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National census next month

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modeller | 18:52 Tue 22nd Feb 2011 | News
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Does a census achieve its objective .
As an example , the question on religion last time just asked what is your religion ?
Which is fair enough and most of us would put down Cof E but in reality our churches are empty most of the time. How does our answer C of E help the government formilate any action they may need to take. Maybe " How often do you attend your place of worship ? " would paint a more accurate picture .
It's like any question, the way it is put can affect the answer .
Therfore do the results in the census give a near accurate picture of our society ?
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I don't object to a census per se, I've got help from the very old past ones one is allowed to see when searching for my family tree. But I can get irate on particular personal questions. I see they claim to have dropped a number of the controversial suggestions.

As for religion, well you don't have to be fanatical enough to go to church to adhere to the philosophy. But I'm unsure that sort of question is directly related to a place of worship, but to gain understanding of the general views and outlooks of the public.
Ah AOG advocating Big Brother activity by the authorities eh ?
I'm sure it would be useful to the authorities, but it would also mean we are all even more scrutinised than we already are; a price I personally feel not worth paying.
Good point regarding religion O_G
I don't really know what the census objectives are.
I don't think most of us would put CofE if you don't go to church. I never do.
I think the problem is more the people who put Jedi!
There was a prgramme on BBC2 a few weeks ago about social mobility and on the bbc website there was a related survey conducted by indpendent researchers. Those questions (although a bit leading) would probably give a better indication of people's lifestyles and jobs than the census does.
O_G Oh, that old chestnut regarding 'Big Brother' activity by the authorities again.

Have you got something to hide? Even so the authorities already know more about you than you would ever guess.

The census first stated with the Domesday Book and then we have had one every 10 years since 1801, with the exception of 1941.

So why is everyone getting so up-tight over this one? Could it be that there are many in this country now that do not wish to advertise the fact that they exist, except when it is beneficial to them of course.
An interesting article here regarding non compliance of the census:

http://www.statistics...1/noncompliancees.asp
If i am correct only 94% of the known population filled the form in last time. It would seem that the big brother threat of a £1,000 fine did not scare all of us sorry i mean't them.
Private details are something we all have to hide as it isn't any of anyone else's business. This 'have you something to hide' argument that allows one to slide down the slope towards authoritarian regimes and situations such as the Stasi and worse

It's a question of what is right, is the State there for the people, or are the people just there for the State. I tend to object to databases being cross referenced by authorities who may not always continue to work in my interest.
O_G

/// Private details are something we all have to hide as it isn't any of anyone else's business.///

I presume you would not be objective to providing your 'Private Details' to anyone, if it was a means to an end?

By this I mean obtaining some grant or extra benefit from the government, or obtaining a loan or a mortgage from one's bank etc.
Taken from the Independent

// Sunday 27 March, Census Day, is now rapidly approaching. The Office of National Statistics is preparing a big propaganda campaign starting with TV adverts. The total cost of the census to the taxpayer is estimated at over £450m.

Census forms are kept secret from the public for 100 years. But EU legislation allows the 2011 census to be shared with all 27 member states, and under the Statistics and Registration Service Act raw census data may be acquired by the police, the intelligence agencies, immigration authorities, tax inspectors, DWP investigators, foreign governments or private sector or academic "approved researchers" etc. It is impossible to guarantee there won't be a security breach or that data once captured will be used legitimately, or to assume anyone would know if it were not.

Thousands of people will be involved in gathering the information in the census, and it will be processed by large commercial contractors, including the US weapons firm Lockheed Martin, America's largest arms manufacturer, which won the £150m contract to run the census on behalf of the Office for National Statistics (ONS). All US-based companies are subject to the US Patriot Act, which allows the US government to have access to any data in the company's possession, and this could give the US government access to detailed and personal data on the UK's entire population. //
Every country has a right to know who resides in it, how about non-compliance of census no benefits - as you do not exist.
Just because a person is intelligent is does not also mean he could be an illegal immigration DENIER and it stands out like a sore thumb.
New_Judge

///Meantime the seventy year old who does not mind being counted but wants to keep details of his private life, er...private will be pursued with the full might of the law. ///

Actually, there were only a handful of prosecutions:
http://www.statistics...1/noncompliancees.asp

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