§ Dr. Twinnasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what response the Government propose to make to the Home Affairs Committee report on an ethnic question in the census.
§ Mr. FowlerThe Government's reply to the second report from the Home Affairs Committee is published today — Cmnd. 9238. The Government welcome this report and accept that the Committee has made a good case in principle for the inclusion of an ethnic question, but it will necessarily be several years before final decisions can be taken about what questions are to be included in the next census. As I announced in the House on 14 July 1983 at column450 census planning will proceed on the assumption that the next census will be held in 1991. In the meantime, valuable information about the numbers and circumstances of the ethnic minorities will continue to be available from other sources. A decision on whether to supplement information derived from these sources with national data from an ethnic question in the census will depend on practical issues and in particular, as the Committee recognises, on the public acceptability of such a question. This will need to be tested well in advance. Accordingly, the Government have decided to invite the registrars general to carry out whatever tests are necessary 577W to see if a reliable and publicly acceptable census question on ethnic origin can be developed for inclusion in the 1991 census if that is the wish of the Government of the day.