Taking part in census is essential for Hackney’s funding, says Mayor

Hackney's elected mayor, Jules Pipe

Hackney mayor Jules Pipe is urging the borough’s residents to take part in the 2011 census on 27 March, saying that any residents who do not do so will cost the borough future funding.

The census, compiled each decade by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) will count the borough’s population and basic demographic data. This in turn helps calculate government and council spending on services ranging from health to refuse collection.

Mayor Pipe said, “It’s essential that every household in Hackney takes the time to fill in the census. The more households that fill in the census forms, the more money we will get for local services. This year’s census will be one of the most important ever for people in Hackney.

“The council is facing more than £80m in Government spending cuts over the next four years: we need to ensure that central Government has an accurate understanding of the borough’s population and its needs, so this is reflected in how much money we receive for vital services in the local community.”

Residents who fail to take part in the census will risk a £1000 fine. But citing the three million who did not fill in a form in 2001 (of whom fewer than 100 were prosecuted nationally), campaigners say this amounts to empty bullying.

Some critics, including campaign group NO2ID, also argue the census is an invasion of privacy, a claim denied by the UK Statistics Authority, who have stated that all questions comply with the Human Rights Act 1998 and as such do not infringe on respondents’ privacy.

The council said all information collected by the census is completely confidential and is “only used to produce and analyse data on numbers of people and the service need of the area”.

Other critics, including Cabinet Minister Francis Maude, have attacked the self-completion census as a duplication of data held elsewhere. Yet proponents have contested the ease of using other types of data, arguing that the national survey produces a rich texture of information despite its ‘snapshot’ nature.

The Stop The War Coalition has called for a boycott of the census, as arms manufacturer Lockheed Martin is helping to run it on behalf of the ONS.

One challenge will be accounting for the 15% of Hackney’s population living in households with seven or more people, as the form only allows for six. Any more and the householder must either complete the questionnaire online or order a continuation form by calling a helpline.

As well as an online completion option, support for the census is available in 58 different languages.