How critical is the census?

摘要

The state of permanent revolutionthat defines the information ageleaves venerable institutions datingback centuries needing to prove theirrelevance.The 10-yearly census is no exception,facing as it does, regular demands frompoliticians for it to justify its £250mcost. Following the big national datasharingexercises of both 2001 and2011, MPs and ministers suggestedradical reform – or even scrapping thecensus. The Treasury Select Committeeasked the Office for National Statistics(ONS) to provide ‘robust evidence tojustify expenditure of over £250m’.To meet that request the ONSpledged, in its own words ‘to ensure thatthe benefits (of the 2011 census) wererealised and evidenced’.