§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to include(a) English, (b) Scottish, (c) Welsh and (d) Northern Ireland tick boxes to indicate nationality on the next census form; and if he will make a statement. [151361]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Lawrence Robertson, dated 26 February 2001:
As National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the plans were for including English, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland tick boxes to indicate nationality on the next census form.As Registrar General for England and Wales I can only comment on the 2001 Census in England and Wales.The 2001 Census form in England and Wales does not include a question on nationality. All the questions proposed in the White Paper were widely consulted upon and shown to have satisfied certain strategic criteria; such as the need for the information by a substantial number of census users, and that the information was not available from any other source in the detail or area level required.The 2001 Census form in England and Wales does include a question on country of birth which includes tick boxes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a question on ethnic group. The prime purpose of the ethnic group question is to identify areas with high levels of ethnic minority populations, which would help provide valuable baseline information on which to plan and provide services and monitor racial disadvantage and social exclusion. A "write-in" response category within each of the main ethnic groupings provides the opportunity for persons to describe their ethnicity as "English", "Scottish", "Welsh", or "Northern Irish" or in whatever other way they wish.