Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2015 to Question 219411, what policy considerations led to the decision to retain the Census 2001 framework.

The Home Office, taking advice from senior officers, has decided against the transition to the Census 2011 classification for the forces of England and Wales at this time on the grounds that the costs involved in changing the current classifications would be considerable and disproportionate. However, the Home Office and policing partners will continue to keep the situation under careful review.