Census

Baroness Kramer Excerpts

Monday 13th June 2011 Lords Chamber

Asked By

[Baroness Kramer]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of postcodes in England and Wales will be covered by the 2011 Census Coverage Survey, and what are the anticipated benefits and costs of the Survey.

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, the current Office for National Statistics census coverage survey is a validation exercise that will greatly enhance the statistical authority and value of the census. It will cover some 17,000 postcodes across England and Wales. This represents a sample of 1.3 per cent of all postcodes in England and Wales, and will cover some 330,000 addresses. The cost of the field operation of the survey is estimated to be £6.5 million, representing around 1.3 per cent of the total census costs. The cost for the processing of the information collected in the survey is included in the overall cost of the processing operation.

[Baroness Kramer]

My Lords, I thank the Minister for that very full Answer. However, he will be aware that this is a survey of people who have filled out the census form and about whom no questions have been raised as to accuracy. They are required to stand on a doorstep for 10 minutes, answering personal questions from a complete stranger. If someone refuses to answer, surveyors are instructed to return as many as 10 times to wear them down into answering this survey. As someone said to me, it is fascinating to watch an exercise that not only wastes public money but manages to alienate the public. Will the Minister give us a guarantee that future evaluations of the census will be proportionate, targeted and designed—please—with a dose of common sense?

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

I am sorry that my noble friend takes that view of this exercise, which is a valuable part of the census. I understand her concern about intrusiveness; these things are not taken in hand lightly. However, the survey is a vital element of the whole of the 2011 census operation. It is necessary in order to assess the extent of any undercount, and to provide information on those persons missed in the census to adjust the final estimates so as to enable all the resulting statistics to relate to the whole population.