In a new report titled Local Counts: The future of the census, it
says the information gathered in the 2011 census will be out of date by
the time it is published, will be insufficiently detailed and could
underestimate the number of people living in Britain.
It says it cannot accurately reflect the true state of Britain because of poor quality information on households, high rates of population mobility and a growing reluctance to fill in official forms.
Figures based on the census are used to allocate £100bn of government spending for local authorities and primary care trusts. The NLGN says the 2001 census under counted the population by 900,000, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, and that local authority areas have seen their population enumerated at 10% less than their actual numbers.
The NLGN proposes that Britain should follow the example of other European countries, such as the Netherlands, who have moved to a reliance on administrative databases to provide a continually updated 'rolling' register. It says public organisations already collect data and information on citizens through a large number of streams and that these can be supplemented by targeted surveys to profile the population and its needs. This new approach, it is argued, should be introduced as soon as possible.
It says it cannot accurately reflect the true state of Britain because of poor quality information on households, high rates of population mobility and a growing reluctance to fill in official forms.
Figures based on the census are used to allocate £100bn of government spending for local authorities and primary care trusts. The NLGN says the 2001 census under counted the population by 900,000, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, and that local authority areas have seen their population enumerated at 10% less than their actual numbers.
The NLGN proposes that Britain should follow the example of other European countries, such as the Netherlands, who have moved to a reliance on administrative databases to provide a continually updated 'rolling' register. It says public organisations already collect data and information on citizens through a large number of streams and that these can be supplemented by targeted surveys to profile the population and its needs. This new approach, it is argued, should be introduced as soon as possible.
But, I am an old cynic. I dont trust any of these new Quango's and am looking for the real reason for this about turn.
The Government are planning to introduce many very controversial questions into this forthcoming census, never being one to miss an opportunity to gather even more information about us, so why is this call to abandon this census coming now.
Could it be that come 2011 England will have been split into its new Euro Regions and therefore regional census from Brussels would be the new legal norm, along with Local Authority funding coming directly from Brussels, or could it be, and I rather think that this is more likely, the Government, or more probably the EU, (for they have overall control of the NLGN, who will become the controllers of the Regional governments under the Lisbon Treaty) don't want anyone to know just how out of control immigration really is.
Immigration figures have been massaged for so long now, that the real figures will surprise and shock everyone, create severe political embarrassment, and the possibility that this could lead to much civil unrest across Europe.
Keep digging, never take anything at face value from Government or its Qango's.
UPDATE: as indicated by anonymous below, 77 million is nearer the real figure.
