RSSeNEWS to be determined...

The UK Statistics Authority issued a press release yesterday (27 July 2010) welcoming the formal commitment to the 2011 census given by cabinet minister Rt Hon Francis Maude MP in response to a written parliamentary question from Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol South.

The UK Statistics Authority has been concerned about potential damage to the 2011 census for England and Wales in the current financial climate. In a letter to Francis Maude, Sir Michael Scholar, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority Board, set out the board's concerns that any cut to the current funding of the Census could seriously undermine the exercise.

Among other uses, the census provides a vital 10-yearly bench marking for the UK's population estimates and projections. Over £100 billion of public money is allocated each year on the basis of these figures and the census is currently the only robust way of recalibrating these statistics.

Sir Michael acknowledges that ONS should look at alternatives to the traditional census for the future as a matter of priority. The ONS, and devolved administrations for the UK, have already been working on the 'Beyond 2011' project to do just that.