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8 Feb 2010 : Column 790W—continued
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) with reference to paragraph 4.76 of the Census 2001's General Report for England and Wales, if she will place in the Library a copy of each document drawn up on guidance and training on procedures for handling census non-compliance; [315219]
(2) how many non-compliance staff are planned for the Census 2011; and what estimate has been made of the cost of employing such staff. [315273]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (1) With reference to paragraph 4.76 of the Census 2001 General Report for England and Wales, if a copy of each document drawn up on guidance and training on procedures for handling census non-compliance will be placed in the Library; (2) How many non-compliance staff are planned for the census 2011; and what estimate has been made of the cost of employing such staff. (315219 and 315273)
(1) There are no plans to place such documentation in the Library. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) considers any such guidance to be covered by legal and professional privilege, and that its publication may have a detrimental effect on ONS's public responsibilities and may adversely affect any potential prosecution undertaken in respect of anyone refusing to make a census return.
(2) Current estimations of the resources needed for the non-compliance stage of the 2011 Census are for up to 60 teams of
two people covering England and Wales managed by six non-compliance coordinators. It is expected that census non-compliance teams will be engaged full time for the first six months but that their involvement will taper off rapidly after this until only the occasional visit or court attendance is required during the following six months.
Initial estimates for costs of these staff over the entire census period are approximately £1.3 - £1.8 million. These costs are currently being reviewed.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the person response rate was in the 2001 Census in each local authority area; and what the estimated number of people is in each local authority area who did not respond. [315255]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what the person response rate was in the 2001 Census in each local authority area; and what the estimated number of people is in each local authority area who did not respond. (315255)
Listing the response rates for each local authority area in England and Wales areas is not practical within this answer. However, response rates are accessible in a spreadsheet available through this link:
The spreadsheet is downloadable. Whilst it does not show the actual number or people in each local authority area that did not respond, the first column gives a percentage of those people within each of the local authority areas that did respond; this information is then broken down by age and gender.
To make sure the published census results are an accurate picture of the population, an independent survey-the Census Coverage Survey (CCS)-is carried out after the census. The households and people counted in the CCS are matched with those recorded in the census to allow Office for National Statistics (ONS) to estimate the number and the characteristics of people not included on a census questionnaire.
The results of the CCS are then used in conjunction with the Census results to ensure that the final published results are an accurate estimation of the population in England and Wales.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment has been made of the potential effect of a postal strike on the 2011 Census. [315265]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what assessment has been made of the potential effect of a postal strike on the 2011 Census. (315265)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has contracted the delivery and post back of census questionnaires to Royal Mail. Part of this contract requires Royal Mail to develop a number of contingency plans which can be put in place in the event of disruption to postal services during the 2011 Census. These plans are part of ONS's contractual arrangements with Royal Mail, and are therefore commercially confidential.
We have been able to test some of the Royal Mail contingency plans during the census rehearsal in Lancaster, Newham and Isle of Anglesey, as it took place during a period industrial action. There was no impact on the delivery of questionnaires and the measures put in place to avoid disruption to the rehearsal worked
well. ONS would expect Royal Mail to handle any potential issues occurring during the time of the 2011 Census in a similarly effective manner.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what arrangements will apply to recording the details of guests at house parties on 2011 Census night. [315329]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what arrangements will apply to recording the details of guests at house parties on 2011 Census night. (315329)
As explained in my answer to your similar question (Official Report column 957W 3 December 2009), as in previous censuses (but with the exception of 2001) in addition to recording information for all usual residents at an address on census night, householders are required to record any non-resident persons present on census night, including house party guests if they stay overnight. In 2011, four questions will be asked about overnight visitors-name, sex, date of birth, usual address. In censuses taken before 2001, overnight visitors were required to answer the full range of census questions.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people in (a) England and Wales and (b) the UK had at least one (i) edit and (ii) imputation made to their record in the 2001 Census. [315334]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking: i) how many and what proportion of people in (a) England and Wales and (b) the UK had at least one (i) edit and (ii) imputation made to their record in the 2001 Census. (315334)
a) An Edit and Donor Imputation System (EDIS) was devised for the 2001 Census and applied to individual records to provide proxy data for any missing information from existing people and households.
(i) The base population for EDIS was 49.4 million people in England and Wales, including some 0.6 million students living away from home during term-time for whom only a few demographic and relationship questions applied at their home address. A total of 13.7 million edits were carried out on the data for some 11.8 million of these people. The eight most frequently executed edits accounted for 91 per cent of the total.
(ii) One or more data items needed to be imputed for 13.8 million people-that is 28.0 per cent of the population who returned census questionnaires.
Detailed information about edit and imputation is available on the website
The Census 2001 Quality Report for England and Wales, published and laid before Parliament in 2005, includes information on edit and imputation. A copy of the report is thus available at the House of Commons Library and is also available on the National Statistics website through this link:
b) Censuses in Scotland and Northern Ireland are responsibility of the Registrars General for the General Register Office Scotland and the Northern Ireland Statistics Research Agency respectively.
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the imputation rate in the 2001 Census for (a) persons and (b) households was in each local authority area. [315338]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking what the imputation rate in the 2001 Census for (a) persons and (b) households was in each local authority area. (315338)
The numbers of people and households imputed in each local authority into the final 2001 Census counts were used to produce an imputation rate, analysed by a number of key variables. Listing the imputation rates for each local authority area in England and Wales is not practical within this answer. However, imputation rates by key variables for each local authority in England and Wales are accessible in a spreadsheet available through this link:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/imputation_rates_ by_variable.asp
This spreadsheet is downloadable.
Census: Communications
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many telephone calls were made to the 2001 Census helpline; how many were predicted before the line became operational; and what assessment was made of the adequacy of the capacity of the line; [315330]
(2) how many emails were sent to the email help system in the 2001 Census; and what the (a) average and (b) maximum time taken to respond was. [315335]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (1) how many telephone calls were made to the 2001 Census helpline; how many were predicted before the line became operational; and what assessment was made of the adequacy of the capacity of the line; (2) How many emails were sent to the email help system in the 2001 Census; and what the (a) average and (b) maximum time taken to respond to them was. (315330 and 315335)
The 2001 Census Helpline in England and Wales received 2,629,455 calls, with some 240,000 calls received on 23 April alone. Experience of previous census helplines had suggested that the number of calls would be much lower; for example, the 1991 Census helpline had received 125,000 calls prior to Census Day and a further 85,000 subsequently. For the 2001 Census, initial estimates predicted the expected number of calls in England and Wales at 375,000. When it became apparent that the volume of calls being received was far in excess of expectations, the number of telephone lines was increased to 1,000 with an additional 50 operators.
For the 2001 Census in England and Wales the email help system received 16,399 emails. It is not possible to provide average and maximum response times to these emails as these data no longer exist. It was realised at the time that it would not be possible to answer all email queries immediately and the system was designed so that an automatic reply was sent informing the questioner that their query would be answered within 24 hours. However, priority was given to telephone calls and during the unprecedented deluge of calls to the telephone helpline it was not always possible to adhere to the 24 hour deadline. Those emails
with more complex issues which had to be escalated to specialist staff for a response were also not always replied to within the 24 hour deadline.
Census: EU Law
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what Census datasets the Government is required to provide to the European Commission. [315253]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what Census datasets the Government is required to provide to the European Commission. (315253)
The classifications for the statistical outputs from the 2011 Census to be provided to the Statistical Office of the European Union (Eurostat) under the provision of Article 7 (1) (a) of Regulation (EC) No 763/2008 of the European Parliament and the Council on population and housing censuses, which came into force on 9 July 2008, were prescribed in a subsequent implementing Regulation (EC) 201/2009, which came into force on 30 March 2009. The draft of a further implementing Regulation setting out the details of the statistical programme of data to be made available to Eurostat is being submitted for approval by the European Statistical Systems Committee at its next meeting on 11 February.
Copies of EU Regulations are available from the House of Commons Library.
Census: Homelessness
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how homeless people were counted in the 2001 Census; how many homeless people were counted; and how homeless people will be counted in the 2011 Census. [315333]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, dated 4 February 2010:
As Director General I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how homeless people were counted in the 2001 Census; how many homeless people were counted; and how homeless people will be counted in the 2011 Census. (315333)
In the 2001 Census initial liaison took place with the Rough Sleepers Unit of the then Department of the Environment, Transport and Regions to explore the potential for them to assist and advise in counting persons sleeping rough. Some information on particular areas where there were known to be persons sleeping rough was obtained through this contact. Additionally every local authority within England and Wales was contacted for geographical information on persons sleeping rough and contact was made with organisations such as the National Homeless Alliance and Shelter from which volunteers were sought to help conduct the enumeration. The count of rough sleepers was held on census night between 22:00 hours and 06:00 hours the following morning. For each location containing one or more rough sleepers, the enumerators completed a communal establishment questionnaire, which had a specific category for rough sleepers and which provided an address to link the individuals to. The enumerators then either asked rough sleepers to complete their own individual questionnaire, or tried to gather basic demographic information to do this on the individual's behalf.
The total number of rough sleepers recorded in the 2001 Census in England and Wales was 938.
For the 2011 Census we are still researching the best methodology to use for counting people sleeping, or bedded down, in the open air (such as on the streets, or in doorways, parks or bus shelters); and people in buildings or other places not designed for habitation (such as barns, sheds, car parks, cars, derelict boats, or stations. We have liaised with the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) who are now responsible for overseeing work on this issue. We have also been in touch with local authorities who are required to conduct their own annual counts if they have more than ten rough sleepers to learn how they carry out their counts to see whether any successful procedures used by them could be used or modified.
Hostels or night shelters which have homeless people staying will be enumerated as Communal Establishments (CEs). CE managers will get a questionnaire to complete containing basic questions on the accommodation type and including a headcount of all visitors staying there on census night. However, anyone staying at the establishment who has no usual residence elsewhere would also be expected to complete an individual questionnaire, including any non UK residents who intend to stay in the country for three months or more. The individual questionnaire contains the complete set of census questions that would normally be completed by household residents.
Local census field managers will contact hostels and night shelters several weeks before the census to make arrangements and assess any requirements for special supplies such as literacy aids or translations. The questionnaires will then be delivered just before census day by a special enumerator. The CE manager is responsible for getting everything completed on census night. The special enumerator will then return and collect the questionnaires by hand shortly after census day.
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