§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what national allowance he will make for unreturned census forms; and how this allowance will be calculated; [11145]
(2) if he will list Government and non-government departments that depend on census information for the distribution of Government funds. [11144]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, dated October 2001:
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent questions concerning the government departments and non-government departments that depend on Census information for the distribution of government funds and what national allowance will be made for unreturned Census forms; and how this allowance will be calculated. I am replying in his absence. (11144,11145)In answer to the first question, extensive consultation was carried out among government departments, public authorities and private sector organisations on the needs and requirements for information to be collected from the 2001 Census. The purposes for which information from each census question is required were set out in the Government's White paper The 2001 Census of Population (Cm 4253), published in March 1999.638WThe Government needs information that must be authoritative, accurate and comparable for all parts of the country in order to form policy, to plan services for specific groups of people and, in particular, to distribute resources effectively to local and health authorities to enable them to direct resources to where they are needed.Those Government Departments that primarily depend on census information for the purposes of the distribution of public funds include the Departments for Health; Work and Pensions; Education and Skills: Transport, Local Government and the Regions; the Home Office; and the National Assembly for Wales.Extensive use is also made of census information by each local government authority and health authority in the distribution of funds and resources at the more local area level.With regard to the second question, the extent and nature of any under-enumeration in the 2001 Census will be more accurately assessed than in any previous census by the extensive, separate, follow-up Census Coverage Survey carried out by interviewing around 300,000 households shortly after the Census enumeration was completed.Once the interview responses and all the Census returns have been analysed, we will have a definitive picture of how well we have done at both the national and local authority area level. Information from the Census Coverage Survey will thus enable the extent of any under-coverage to be assessed and the characteristics of the population missed in the Census to be estimated. This information will be used to supplement the counts from the Census itself to provide a more complete base of the population for statistical purposes.
§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the reasons for changes in the percentage of households that failed to return Census forms in the last 10 years. [11143]
§ Ruth KellyThe information falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Mr. Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, dated 30 October 2001:
The National Statistician and Registrar General for England and Wales has been asked to reply to your recent question on what assessment has been made for the reasons for changes in the percentage of households that failed to return Census forms in the last 10 years (11143). I am replying in his absence.Evidence from the 2001 Census does not yet give a clear indication of the percentage of households that failed to make a return. Early indications suggest that the overall level of response should be at least as good as that to the 1991 Census.The extent and nature of any under-enumeration will be more accurately assessed than ever before by the extensive and separate follow-up Census Coverage Survey carried out by interviewing around 300,000 households shortly after the Census enumeration was complete.639WResults form the Census Coverage Survey will be used together with information from the Census itself, to provide the best estimate of the extent of any under-enumeration in the Census and the characteristics of the population missed.