§ Sir D. Rentonasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what preparations he is making for the next census of population; and when it will take place.
§ Sir K. JosephNo decision has yet been taken on when to hold the next 555W census of population but the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys is making the necessary plans and preparations.
As part of these preparations the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys will make a further test of census methods in April next year, covering some 100,000 households in Bath CB, Weston-super-Mare MB, Burnley CB, Lancaster MB and Lancaster RD. Public participation in the test will be voluntary.
Several possible improvements in methods will be tested. To reduce the burden of form filling, the census form for all households will include the same basic questions, such as those on age and sex, but only a varying selection of questions on other topics. A large-scale test of this sampling procedure, which worked well in a preliminary test in October 1972, is required now. Questions on the form have been redesigned to make them easier for householders to answer. Procedures by which householders can, if they wish, return forms unseen by the enumerator will be tested, as will technical developments designed to speed the production of census results. The questions asked in the forms will not necessarily be those used in the next full census.
The information returned on the forms will be treated as confidential and used only for compiling statistics. No information about identifiable individuals or households will be disclosed outside the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. A major object of the test will be to obtain the public's reactions to the proposed changes, and I very much hope that all who are invited to take part in it will do so.
Specimen forms will be placed in the Library early next year.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland is arranging for the General Register Office (Scotland) to carry out a voluntary test in Scotland at the same time. It will be on broadly similar lines, though with variations in forms and procedures, and it will take place in the Burgh of Grangemouth and in Machars District of the County of Wigtown, covering some 10,500 households.