Slough Borough Council, in partnership with The Office for National Statistics (ONS), has enlisted the help of residents in parts of Slough in a pilot for the 2011 Census.
The Census is held every ten years by the ONS and information collected helps show the local communities and nationwide trends and estimate the number of people and households in each area.
Census statistics are vital to help plan for the future of Slough, for making decisions on the need for transport, housing, schools and local services, and in allocating funding for these services.
The ONS collect information from 25 million households across England and Wales, with data security and confidentiality a top priority in drawing up all of the plans for the census.
One of the main uses of census data is to help calculate money from central government needed by local authorities. The number and type of people in an area determines the amount of money allocated, so all local people have to be counted in the 2011 Census to provide good information to plan and fund services needed.
Andrew Blake-Herbert, strategic director of resources for Slough Borough Council, said: “The 2011 Census is just two years away, and there are a lot of preparations needed in that time. Our population campaign for fairer funding continues and this pilot is critical both for Slough and the ONS. When the census is carried out in 2011, it will give as accurate a reflection of Slough’s population as possible and give the council the appropriate level of funding to support its residents. It’s therefore vital that any household that receiving the form fills it out.
“Slough has been selected as a census test area because of our population campaign and because there are many multi-occupied dwellings and flats in the borough. It also has a very rapidly changing diverse community with a high proportion of new migrants.”
Questionnaires are currently being delivered to approximately 7,500 homes in the borough as part of the census test. People living in the test areas will be asked to complete the questionnaire on Census Test Day – which is March 1, before posting it back in the pre paid envelops to the ONS.
Data security and confidentiality of personal information is a top priority in the census and the census test. Personal census data will be kept confidential and will not be shared with any other government departments.
Support will be available from Census field staff to provide any help people may need to fill in the Census test questionnaire.
Slough Borough Council
