Tory plans to abolish the Census.

[sandyRoe]

Is this proposal as short-sighted as it is penny pinching?

[Richard1966]

No, All the data gathered can be obtained in far more effective ways. Its a historic anomaly with no present day relevance.

[boxtops]

I haven't seen the papers today, what is the rationale? Are they saying to abolish it forever, or just survey less frequently?

[fairkatrina]

I think they should keep it; every fact about a person's life can be found through other means (BMD data etc) but the censuses give an insight into the lives of a family as they grow up. It's a little snapshot of history and I think it'd be a shame to abolish them.

[boxtops]

It will also be very difficult for the genealogists amongst us, who rely on the census data to help track their ancestry.

[Barmaid]

Shame to abolish it. However, its not really going to have any effect on my research given there has been a census every year since 1801 (although pre 1841 of little use). By the time 2110 comes, I shall be pushing up daisies.

Given the way technology has gone, I am not sure of the validity of it nowadays.

[boxtops]

why 2110, barmaid? I thought the next one would have been 2011 (i.e. next year?)

[MarkRae]

> there has been a census every year since 1801

Every ten years...

[Barmaid]

Ignore me Boxy. 2110 was a date plucked out of my cider adled mind.

However, given there has been a census every 10 years until 2001 and presumably will be one in 2011 (unless they abolish before then), the last Census the genealogist will be able to see will be the 2001 in 2101 or the 2011 in 2111 given that they are closed for 100 years.

I know Markrae - I missed the word "ten" out. Woe is me. Will go and whip myself with a scented bootlace in penitence.

[fairkatrina]

boxtops - a census only becomes available 100 years after it was taken, therefore no-one will have public access to next year's census until 2110

[boxtops]

Ah - I see what you mean, all unfamiliar territory to me, my sister in law is the genealogist in my family!

[MarkRae]

> a census only becomes available 100 years after it was taken

http://www.statistics...01/access_results.asp

[dothawkes31]

Mark the statistics a censis generates are available within months and the purpse of a censs has always been to use the oinfrmatin gathered to plan government and lcal authorty budgets and expenditure and so waiting 100 years wuld have been silly just to find our how many school age children there were.

The release of the actual enumerators bks is what is delayed by statute for 101 years, when the retrns were filled in the explanatory nites was clear on this which is why there is a likely to be a delay in the 1921 census being released early like the 1911 was.

Yes the data can be collected from other sources now with Tax records, child benefit records etc, what cannot be recorded are precisely where people are and the relationships but that is only a genealogists concern not the office off national statistics

[dothawkes31]

sorry for the crap typing i am on my 3rd bacardi and have a garth dvd in the machine

[MarkRae]

Indeed so, and of more interest to linguists are statistics like how many speakers of various languages there are. Of particular interest to me is the number of Scots Gaelic speakers. That was listed as around 58,000 in 2001, but if it has dropped below 50,000 this time then it will be officially classed as an endangered language. Hardly any officially endangered language survives...

[lardhelmet]

Go for it dot! I'm going to crack open the Chardonnay in a mo. Can't be teased with all that sun over the yardarm tripe tonight!

[dothawkes31]

Linguistic statistics will no dpoubt be gleaned frm the varios forms we will unintenmtionally divugle our details on over the next few decades, I might start lying about my langage capabilities in future now to cause covert disruption to the hiring of none english language teachers

[dundurn]

Don't divugle anything Dot! People might see!!

I think it's a shame it's to be discontinued - maybe we could have publicly funded family trees instead? I don't care about the statistics, it's just the relationships I want.

MarkRae: I think it's just the "native" languages they're interested in. My family had Gaelic and Irish until my grand-uncle died in the early 50s but no one ever passed it on to the next generation. Even today there are lots of programmes to encourage, even demand, Irish and Welsh for specific roles, but I suspect few of those listed as acquiring the language in this way ever use it for day to day activities. There was a really funny article not so long ago about an Irish speaker who went into the Tourist Information Office in Dublin and insisted on speaking in Irish. No one could understand a word he said!

[TheOtherHalf]

I hope this doesnt go through. Is it definite ?? I think it would be a shame to future genos. Im doing all my tree to be passed down and if it suddenly comes to a stop and future generations cant carry it on it would be sad.