The
Committee consisted of the following
Members:
Bailey,
Mr. Adrian
(West Bromwich, West)
(Lab/Co-op)
Blizzard,
Mr. Bob
(Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty's
Treasury)
Fabricant,
Michael
(Lichfield)
(Con)
George,
Mr. Bruce
(Walsall, South)
(Lab)
Howell,
John
(Henley) (Con)
Hoyle,
Mr. Lindsay
(Chorley)
(Lab)
Hurd,
Mr. Nick
(Ruislip-Northwood)
(Con)
Jackson,
Glenda
(Hampstead and Highgate)
(Lab)
Kemp,
Mr. Fraser
(Houghton and Washington, East)
(Lab)
Liddell-Grainger,
Mr. Ian
(Bridgwater)
(Con)
McDonnell,
John
(Hayes and Harlington)
(Lab)
Rogerson,
Dan
(North Cornwall)
(LD)
Roy,
Lindsay
(Glenrothes)
(Lab)
Smith,
Angela E.
(Minister of State, Cabinet
Office)
Syms,
Mr. Robert
(Poole)
(Con)
Williams,
Hywel
(Caernarfon) (PC)
Mark
Etherton, Committee Clerk
attended the
Committee
The following
also attended (Standing Order No.
118(2)):
Duddridge,
James (Rochford and Southend, East) (Con)
First
Delegated Legislation
Committee
Monday 30
November
2009
[Mr.
Roger Gale in the
Chair]
Draft
Census (England and Wales) Order
2009
4.30
pm
The
Minister of State, Cabinet Office (Angela E. Smith): I beg
to
move,
That
the Committee has considered the draft Census (England and Wales) Order
2009.
Welcome
to the Chair, Mr. Gale. This is not the first time that I
have served under your chairmanship, so I know well of your customary
fairness in all Committee
proceedings.
The
draft Order in Council gives effect to the proposals of the United
Kingdom Statistics Authority for the Office for National Statistics to
conduct a census throughout England and Wales in 2011. The proposals
were set out the Governments December 2008 White Paper,
Helping to shape tomorrow. There are two important
general points to make about the detail of the order, the first of
which is why we need a census. A census is the most important source of
population statistics. It provides the only sort of statistics for both
small areas and minority population groups. For more than 200 years, it
has provided the underlying information that successive Governments
have used to devise policies, to make decisions and to deliver
services. Central and local government depend on census-based
information to allocate billions of pounds of public funding each year.
There is also the issue of how the 2011 census differs from the 2001
census.
Mr.
Robert Syms (Poole) (Con)
rose
Angela
E. Smith: The hon. Gentleman is so quick off the mark that
I shall give way to
him.
Mr.
Syms: There was a lot of argument after the previous
census about an undercount in some urban areasLondon, in
particular. Even if we take out some people who were trying to make the
best of a bad job, was a review undertaken after the previous census on
how accurate it was, especially in urban areas? Has that been
encompassed in the 2011
census?
Angela
E. Smith: I applaud the hon. Gentleman for his impatience
to get to the heart of the matter, but the accuracy of a census is one
of its crucial aspects. The concerns that have been raised by a number
of hon. Members and others about accuracy have been built into the work
of ONS and the questions that have been asked in the census to ensure
greater accuracy. I shall come to those points, but the issue of
accuracy is most important.
How does the
new census differ from the 2001 census? There have been changes in its
content and, in a sense, the Governments involvement has also
changed. The new independent UK Statistics Authority, of which the ONS
is a part, reports directly to Parliament. The ONS will lead on the
census in 2011, as it did in 2001 but, at that time, the ONS reported
to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury. Given its new independence,
the contents of the census order that we are discussing have been
produced not by Ministers, but by the ONS following extensive
consultation with a wide range of stakeholders. That independence is
essential for building public trust in official
statistics.
I
shall now say something about the detail. Under the Census Act 1920, an
Order in Council is necessary to prescribe the date of the census, the
people to be counted, the people responsible for making a census return
and the information to be given in the census returns. The date of the
census will be 27 March 2011. Everyone will be recorded at the place
where they are usually resident. We also need to count household
members who are temporarily absent on census night. Some additional
information will be collected on household visitors, which is essential
if the ONS is to ensure that visitors are properly counted at their
usual
residence.
The
person responsible for making a census return is to be the householder
or joint householder, but any individual aged 16 or over may make a
separate individual return. The information to be given in the census
returns is covered by article 6 of the order, set out under schedules 2
and 3. Regulations to be laid before the House in spring 2010 will set
out the detailed conduct of the census and will contain copies of the
various questionnaires. The ONS has carried out extensive consultations
on the information to be given in the returnsparticularly on
the issue of accuracy raised by the hon. Member for Poolewith
central and local government, MPs, community groups, businesses,
academia, the third sector and the general
public.
The
ONS has also carried out in-depth question testing during the period
from 2003 to 2009, building on the valuable experience and lessons
learned from the 2001 census, to ensure that the proposed questions in
the 2011 census are justified both in terms of the need for the
information and the fact that they are publicly
acceptable.
Michael
Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): The Minister says that there
has been an exercise in trying to learn from the 2001 census, but was
not one of the lessons learned that the more complicated we make the
census, the more inaccurate it becomes? This census will include more
questions than ever before, some of which might be regarded as being of
a prying nature. Notwithstanding that point, which I am sure we will
come on to later, does the Minister not think that asking so many
questions which take so much time to complete, will result in even
greater inaccuracy?
Angela
E. Smith: No, I do not. There are not many more
questionsthere are some extra questions, but others have been
deleted. There are six additional questions. Making the census easier
to complete is also about the layout. As we progress, I will say
something more about that, but the way in which the census form is laid
out makes it easier for people to understand. I refute the
suggestion that any questions are prying, and the hon. Gentleman might
wish to return to that at another point.
Michael
Fabricant: How many questions will there be, and how long
does the Minister anticipate that it will take for an individual to
complete them?
Angela
E. Smith: The number of questions answered might differ
from individual to individual, because some lead on to the next
question. Answering the questions will probably take between 10 and 15
minutes per individual. I went through the form, and it took me just
under 10 minutes to answer, so that is the kind of time that we are
looking at. I am sure that we can find other examplesperhaps
the hon. Gentleman will try to fill the form in himself to see how long
it takes.
Mr.
Nick Hurd (Ruislip-Northwood) (Con): On a point of
clarification, I understand from the privacy impact assessment that
there are 32 questions and the form will take 40 minutes to fill in. I
congratulate the Minister on her speed, but the public advice is that
it will take longer.
Angela
E. Smith: I do not think that I am much better than
anybody else. It depends on the speed of writing and on how many
questions somebody answers. The hon. Gentleman has raised the matter of
how many people in the household answer questions. Obviously, if there
are six people in the household, it might take longer than if there is
just one person. I will look at the matter again, and answer the
questions to see whether I am being super-quick or whether
that is the normal pace. We all know that Ministers have to go through
things quickly.
Mr.
Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley) (Lab): Does the Minister expect
the number of people who fail to fill in the forms to increase or
decrease, given the way in which the forms will be set out and the
questions will be asked?
Angela
E. Smith: I would expect the response rate to increase,
partly due to the way in which questions are ordered and worded. The
expectation is for an increased response rate.
Under the
terms of the 1920 Act, some itemsthose printed in italics in
the draft ordermay be included in the census only if they are
approved by affirmative resolution of the House. Only a few of those
points are new to the census, and I will deal with them specifically,
which might help the hon. Member for
Lichfield.
People
born outside the UK are asked about their date of entry into the
household. Those who arrived in the past year are asked about the
length of their intended stay. There is an increasing need for more
accurate and reliable statistics on migration in general, particularly
short-term migration. The census will therefore provide information on
shorter-term migrants and temporary foreign workers, and help to
provide a better understanding of their needs and impact on local
labour markets and demand for local services. People will be asked to
state the country of any passport that they hold. Departments and the
European Union require statistical data on the citizenship of the
population. The question asks about
passports rather than citizenship, because asking directly about a
persons citizenship can confuse respondents, who might mistake
the question for one of national identity. People give more consistent
answers to a question about passports, and it is easier to use the
results to produce the necessary citizenship-related
information.
People will
also be asked to register another address where they spend time. Such
information is useful to local authorities that need to know the number
of people who stay within the area and use local services during the
week, but who have a usual residence elsewhere. People will record
their national identity in addition to their
ethnicity.
Michael
Fabricant: One criticism of the 2001 census was that
although someone could say that they were British and also state that
they were Scottish, Welsh or from Northern Ireland, the option of
saying that they were English was apparently not available. It was felt
that if someone was English, they were British. However, if that is the
case, why allow Scottish, Welsh or
Northern Irish as an answer? Will those who want to
state that they are of English origin have the option to do that this
time?
Angela
E. Smith: The simple answer is yes. In addition, people
may describe themselves as English and British or Scottish and British,
for example. People may also use a write-in box to describe themselves
as being another nationality and British and English. So, there is a
tick-box for English as well as a write-in
section.
Hywel
Williams (Caernarfon) (PC): I will briefly add another
piece of information. People were actually not allowed to call
themselves Welsh in the last census because there was not a
Welsh tick-box, leading to a sustained campaign by a
certain political party. I welcome the fact that such a tick-box will
be available this
time.
Angela
E. Smith: I am obviously doing very well as two hon.
Gentlemen are already happy with the order.
People will
also be asked about their main language, allowing central and local
government to better target language support and resources to those
sections of society unable to access public services properly due to
language barriers. People whose main language is not English will be
asked to state their proficiency in speaking English, with an
additional, similar question about proficiency in Welsh in Wales. That
will give greater insight into the need for language training and
community work to combat any possible discrimination and social
disadvantage suffered by people whose language skills could be
improved.
All
other items requiring affirmative resolution cover topics that were
included in the 2001 census, but I will refer specifically to two of
them where there have been some slight changes to the information to be
collected. The question asking people to assess their general health
over the past 12 months has been expanded to a five-point scale,
ranging from very good to very bad.
That information will be used for the planning of health policy and the
provision of services, particularly for the elderly. The question on
qualifications has a new tick-box to indicate any foreign
qualifications that are held.
Other
questions deserve mention either because the proposed wording has been
revised since the last census or because particular interest has been
shown by hon. Members. Following the Civil Partnership Act 2004, the
traditional census question on marital status has been expanded to
include response categories for civil partnership status.
Members may
also be aware of lobbying campaigns by Kashmiri, Sikh and Cornish
groups, for example, on the ethnicity question. It has not been
possible to include a tick-box for every ethnic group category
requested. Each request was reviewed against a detailed set of
prioritisation measures before the final recommendation was made. That
identified that the strongest need for additional response category
tick-boxes was for Gypsy and Irish Traveller and
Arab, which will be included in the 2011 census. People
can record their ethnicity in whatever way they choose by recording it
in the write-in spaces provided. All such responses will be counted. In
the case of Sikhs, there is also the option of ticking the specific
Sikh box in the religion question. The Government are satisfied that
the census complies with national legislation on race relations and any
international conventions on the protection of national
minorities.
John
McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) (Lab): On Sikh
self-identification, there is an understanding among the Sikh community
of the Governments position, yet regret that the Government
have been unable to include Sikhs as an ethnic group within that
section of the census or accommodate Punjabi as a cultural and ethnic
status.