HC Deb 19 July 1988 vol 137 cc587-8W
Mr. Heddle

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services when the White Paper on the 1991 census of population will be published.

Mr. Moore

The Government's proposals for a census in Great Britain on 21 April 1991 are published today in the White Paper, Cm. 430 which I have presented to Parliament in conjunction with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

The Government believe that the topics to be included in the census should be those most needed by central and local government, businesses and the professions. It also considers it essential that the census should be generally acceptable to the public and should not be an unreasonable burden on them. The proposals are based on these principles.

The proposed content is broadly similar to that of the successful 1981 census but with four additional questions. They are on central heating, long-term illness, hours worked and the term-time address of students. These will not add greatly to the time taken to complete the form and will provide important information. Other new features compared with 1981 include making a detailed count of dwellings, entering the postcode of each household address into the computer and asking people in housholds who were absent from their usual address on census night to complete a form from that address on a voluntary basis when they return. These changes will improve census coverage and make the results more useful.

A final census test will be held in April 1989. The main aim of the test will be to make sure that the procedures for delivery and collection of the forms will be effective. It will also be used to make a final assessment of the reaction of the public to the proposed questions and the effectiveness of publicity about the census. The areas to be included are Duns, North Berwick and parts of Edinburgh, Birmingham, Scarborough and the London boroughs of Merton and Wandsworth.

In its reply (Cm. 9238) to the Home Affairs Committee report on ethnic and racial questions in the census, the Government recognised that the committee had made a good case in principle for the inclusion of a question on ethnic group. Subsequent consultations with Government Departments and local and health authorities have confirmed the need for the kind of information such a question would provide for local areas. To do this, a question must be formulated in an understandable and acceptable way. OPCS has, through a series of tests and discussions organised with the help of the Commission for Racial Equality, developed a form of question that it believes to be the most likely to meet these criteria. The question is set out in the White Paper. The Government propose to include this question in the census test in April 1989 and to study the public response before deciding whether the question should be included in the final plans for the 1991 census.

The Census Act 1920 lays down strict safeguards of census confidentiality. The Government will not use the information gathered in the 1991 census about identified individuals for administrative purposes and will ensure that no organisation or person outside the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys and the General Register Office for Scotland has access to census information about identified individuals.

The British Computer Society has accepted an invitation to review the data protection, confidentiality and security arrangements for the 1991 census and the Data Protection Registrar has expressed support for this independent review. The findings will be published before the census.

The Government intend that, as in previous censuses, results from the 1991 census should wherever practicable be made available in a convenient form to meet users' needs, with a commitment where necessary by users to meet the costs. The particular priority will be to make key results for all local authorities available by May 1992 so they can be used in the revenue support calculations that year. Priority will also be given to results for health authorities.

After evaluation of the April 1989 test results, the Government will prepare a draft Order in Council and will lay it before Parliament for approval in accordance with the Census Act 1920.