Census 2021: any comments?

[MikeWh]

I could say I'm British, from the Province of Ulster, in the Island of Ireland which makes up the British Isles, but the census wouldn't let me.

Actually you can. Just tick other and then fill in what you want.

 

[Butts]

Feel like I'm missing out here as the Census in Scotland has been postponed till next year

 

[The_Train]

Just completed mine. Took me about 2 minutes!

I'm not the brightest of people so can someone tell me how this helps with all the things those adverts tell me it will like public transport, healthcare etc? I didn't seem to get asked any questions with regards to stuff like that apart from a single question asking me about my general health.

I was expecting lots more questions and stuff about how often I use public transport or access healthcare etc. Do I just have the wrong idea about what a census is?

 

[telstarbox]

The questions "how do you travel to work" and "where is your work location" do inform transport provision - we use the data from these questions a lot in transport planning.

Healthcare is a bit more abstract, but for example if the census shows that Norfolk has significantly fewer GPs per head than Suffolk does, then the NHS may direct more investment to Norfolk to correct this.

Other parts of the public sector will carry out their own more detailed surveys over time, but these can be correlated with the Census which is considered definitive.

 

[Gloster]

I have always thought that it is a compromise between getting every piece of information that the authorities reasonably want and producing a form that people will be bothered to fill in properly. Make it too long and people either won’t bother at all or will just scribble in any old answer. At least this gives them a certain amount of reasonably accurate information to build on.

 

[cb a1]

I have always thought that it is a compromise between getting every piece of information that the authorities reasonably want and producing a form that people will be bothered to fill in properly. Make it too long and people either won’t bother at all or will just scribble in any old answer. At least this gives them a certain amount of reasonably accurate information to build on.

That's pretty much spot on.

There's often discussion about ditching the Census and relying on other administrative data.

Some administrative data could replace the Census, but many are samples and you need something like the Census to expand the data.

The other phenomenal advantage of the Census is the cross tabulation, so not only do you know how many people travel to work by train, but their age, sex, socio-economic status, household structure, religion, car ownership, health status, etc. Some of these may not be relevant but without the Census it's really difficult to find what is.

 

[317 forever]

The questions "how do you travel to work" and "where is your work location" do inform transport provision - we use the data from these questions a lot in transport planning.

Healthcare is a bit more abstract, but for example if the census shows that Norfolk has significantly fewer GPs per head than Suffolk does, then the NHS may direct more investment to Norfolk to correct this.

Other parts of the public sector will carry out their own more detailed surveys over time, but these can be correlated with the Census which is considered definitive.

I completed my form this afternoon and admitted I am currently working from home. Having the Census home could therefore distort the proportion of people working from home if this reduces again after the pandemic.

 

[Ianno87]

I completed my form this afternoon and admitted I am currently working from home. Having the Census home could therefore distort the proportion of people working from home if this reduces again after the pandemic.

I like to think that that'll be factored into how the data is subsequently used, and adjusted accordingly.

 

[yorksrob]

The censuses of the past centuries have been wonderful resources to historians to understand the country in the past, and the current census will be a wonderful resource to future historians. That's a good enough reason to take part for me.

 

[Mojo]

As it's now the official Census day, I did mine this morning.

 

[The_Train]

The questions "how do you travel to work" and "where is your work location" do inform transport provision - we use the data from these questions a lot in transport planning.

Healthcare is a bit more abstract, but for example if the census shows that Norfolk has significantly fewer GPs per head than Suffolk does, then the NHS may direct more investment to Norfolk to correct this.

Other parts of the public sector will carry out their own more detailed surveys over time, but these can be correlated with the Census which is considered definitive.

Yes, I saw a tweet that someone had put regarding a transport question so I assumed that some were hidden away and dependent on answers you gave before. I'd be interested to know if any transport questions appeared for those people who stated that they were 'retired'. Equally though, there is more to public transport than just commuting to and from work - one big problem always seems to be those in rural areas not having sufficient public transport provision to get anywhere being one example!

I have always thought that it is a compromise between getting every piece of information that the authorities reasonably want and producing a form that people will be bothered to fill in properly. Make it too long and people either won’t bother at all or will just scribble in any old answer. At least this gives them a certain amount of reasonably accurate information to build on.

I get that although the threat of a £1000 fine would ensure I completed it whether it was one question or 1 million questions

I completed my form this afternoon and admitted I am currently working from home. Having the Census home could therefore distort the proportion of people working from home if this reduces again after the pandemic.

Well, it clearly states (on lots and lots and lots of occasions) that you should base your answers on now during these covid times. Hopefully that doesn't mean they are plotting covid restrictions until the next census

The censuses of the past centuries have been wonderful resources to historians to understand the country in the past, and the current census will be a wonderful resource to future historians. That's a good enough reason to take part for me.

Agree with that. I started a family tree many moons ago and although I didn't get very far at all (mainly due to cost) a good chunk of info seemed to come from census information. On this subject does anyone know how similar the census is today compared to the early days in terms of the questions we are asked?

 

[telstarbox]

I completed my form this afternoon and admitted I am currently working from home. Having the Census home could therefore distort the proportion of people working from home if this reduces again after the pandemic.

The Census isn't supposed to be a crystal ball though - just a snapshot of what's happening today. (The last one was in the aftermath of the financial crisis which had its own short term effects.)

Having said that, now is coincidentally a good time to record levels of WFH as we're a year into the pandemic and under fairly restrictive lockdown. This will have shaken out which jobs can or can't be done from home sustainably.

 

[Cowley]

That’s mine done. Time for a cup of tea.

 

[The_Train]

That’s mine done. Time for a cup of tea.

Doesn't the advert say to have a cup of tea whilst doing it? You've failed sir

 

[Cowley]

Doesn't the advert say to have a cup of tea whilst doing it? You've failed sir

Oh no!

 

[A Challenge]

I've just done mine, and didn't get asked any transport questions either - and I'm not retired.

 

[D6130]

I've just done mine, and didn't get asked any transport questions either - and I'm not retired.

That's strange......we were asked how many cars we have available in the household (Answer: none), although we are retired.

 

[Typhoon]

Agree with that. I started a family tree many moons ago and although I didn't get very far at all (mainly due to cost) a good chunk of info seemed to come from census information. On this subject does anyone know how similar the census is today compared to the early days in terms of the questions we are asked?

Early censuses were very basic and completed by the enumerator (residents may not have been able to write). For instance, I have looked at the 1841 census information for a relative. It lists the address, name of each resident (first and last, no middle name), age and gender, occupation (if one) - sometimes abbreviated (Ag Lab features a lot), whether they were born in the same county (y or n) and whether they were born in 'Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts'. That's it. So there are 25 residents on one page.

Incidentally, a lot of family research can be carried out for free using the websites www.freecen.org.uk, www.freereg.org.uk, www.freebmd.org.uk for UK families.

 

[Ianno87]

The Census isn't supposed to be a crystal ball though - just a snapshot of what's happening today. (The last one was in the aftermath of the financial crisis which had its own short term effects.)

Having said that, now is coincidentally a good time to record levels of WFH as we're a year into the pandemic and under fairly restrictive lockdown. This will have shaken out which jobs can or can't be done from home sustainably.

Regarding WFH, there's really no other reliable way of capturing data other than exactly what you are doing at the moment. Otherwise people will answer a mix of what they used to do, or speculate what they might be doing if it weren't for Covid - which would be less "clean" overall.

 

[XAM2175]

I've just done mine, and didn't get asked any transport questions either - and I'm not retired.

That's strange......we were asked how many cars we have available in the household (Answer: none), although we are retired.

If my understanding is correct, there are only two questions in the English census this year that concern transport:

• One household question - H14: In total, how many cars or vans are owned, or available for use, by members of this household?
• One individual question - I48: How do you usually travel to work?

You will only be asked to complete H14 if one or more people are usually resident at the address concerned.
You will only be asked to complete I48 if;

1. You are not a schoolchild or student in full-time education, or if you are a schoolchild or student in full-time education and your normal term-time address is the address being enumerated, and;
2. You are aged 16 or over, and;
3. Your answer to I38 (have you ever done any paid work?) is yes, and;
4. Your answer to I46 is that you either "had a job last week" or that "you were temporarily away from work last week".

 

[The_Train]

Early censuses were very basic and completed by the enumerator (residents may not have been able to write). For instance, I have looked at the 1841 census information for a relative. It lists the address, name of each resident (first and last, no middle name), age and gender, occupation (if one) - sometimes abbreviated (Ag Lab features a lot), whether they were born in the same county (y or n) and whether they were born in 'Scotland, Ireland or Foreign Parts'. That's it. So there are 25 residents on one page.

Incidentally, a lot of family research can be carried out for free using the websites www.freecen.org.uk, www.freereg.org.uk, www.freebmd.org.uk for UK families.

Thanks for that - it's quite interesting to see how the questions have developed over time!

Thanks for those links as well. I will check them out and maybe revisit my tree - I was using those services that offer a free start but then charge for you to go deeper and it wasn't really worth the cost at the time

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I've just done mine, and didn't get asked any transport questions either - and I'm not retired.

As @XAM2175 has just pointed out, the main transport question is the "How do you usually travel to work?" question, number 48.

The options are...

* Work mainly at or from home;
* Underground, metro, light rail, tram;
* Train;
* Bus, minibus or coach;
* Taxi;
* Motorcycle, scooter or moped;
* Driving a car or van;
* Passenger in a car or van;
* Bicycle;
* On foot;
* Other.

If you answered affirmatively to the "If you did not have a job last week" query, number 46, you'd then have skipped past question 48.

The "In total, how many cars or vans are owned, or available for use, by members of this household?" question, is number H14, which you might not get to see if completing an Individual Questionnaire.

The options are...

* None;
* 1;
* 2;
* 3;
* 4;
* 5 or more, write in number.