§ Lord AVEBURYasked Her Majesty's Government:
What reports the Home Office has received of meetings held in Haringey to discuss the ethnic origin questions in the test census planned for April, and what was the reaction of representatives of ethnic minorities at such meetings.
§ Lord WELLS-PESTELLThe Home Office has received a detailed account from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys of the consultation held in Haringey on 24th February 1979 on the test census. The meeting was organised by the Haringey Community Relations Council who provided its chairman; others on the platform were from the Commission for Racial Equality and from OPCS. The OPCS have reported that most representatives of the ethnic minorities generally supported the inclusion in the Census of a question that will provide information about their numbers and conditions. Opinions differed widely on the most satisfactory form of words for the question; they ranged from a simple division into "White British" and "Black British", to a detailed list of origins, cultures and religions. The Government are most grateful to the people of Haringey for their co-operation in these consultations.