We have a chance to share our opinion in the future of censuses in England and Wales which is such an invaluable tool for family history.
Ian Cope, Director of Population and Demography Directorate at the UK’s Office of National Statistics says: “We are launching a public consultation on ‘The Census and future provision of population statistics in England and Wales’.
“You may be aware that our ‘Beyond 2011’ programme has been reviewing all of the options. Our research has resulted in a clear view that there are two possible approaches to census-taking in the future:
- a census once a decade – similar to the 2011 Census but primarily online; or
- a census using existing administrative data and compulsory annual surveys.
“Both approaches would provide annual statistics about the size of the population, nationally and for local authorities, as we do currently. A census using existing data and annual surveys would provide statistics about population characteristics every year. An online census would provide more detailed statistics but only once a decade.
“Different users will have different views on the approaches, depending on how they use the data, and we welcome views from anyone.
“The consultation will run until 13th December 2013. We have arranged a number of events to support the consultation, listed in the link below. You can find the consultation document and a link to the online questionnaire here.”
