All the questions and answers but one less form to fill in...
21 Mar 2021
I have no doubt that everyone knows that today is National Census day.
Ten years ago we all knew because on March 27th 2011 we were all asked to complete the National census form, but it has been just under 10 years since we last had to undertake the task. I remember that we were given the choice of filling it in online that year, but for many it was still a ‘pen and paper’ affair. The last form-filling challenge was scheduled to take a snapshot of the country on that day, and I know that I was relieved because I thought I would never have to do that again.
Until then the Census was the government’s way of collecting an accurate picture of what people were doing and how we were living on one particular day. There were no right or wrong answers but what each of us wrote allowed politicians and the powers that be to work out how many people there were in the country and broke down the most populated areas, the ages of those people, how many women there were as opposed to men, what illnesses we had and how often we needed to visit the Hospital or Doctor, what sort of homes we all had, how many cars and televisions and computers we had, what religion we followed, how many people worked in what sort of jobs, how people travelled both in the UK and beyond our shores and so much more.
The first ever national Census was held on 10 March 1801 and on 42 occasions since then the population of the UK looked to one evening every ten years when they would put their thinking caps on. All this so that big business and officialdom could make forecasts about so many aspects of our lives, but it is also to be noted that the information can be used retrospectively for all sorts of reasons such as learning about aspects of the past 220 years of your personal genealogy.
Do you remember receiving your form back in 2011? They used to come along frighteningly quickly and leave many of us scratching our heads as one member of each household would prepare to answer a huge booklet of questions. The exercise always reminded me of being back in school taking the 11+, although during this exam you were allowed the telly on in the background, conversation and a snack while you answered the questions, you could even take a break and there was a less stringent time limit.
I have to admit that I thought that the 2011 census would be the last which involved a form that a person in each household would be called upon to fill in because we now give ourselves away every time we use a computer, pay with a bank card, travel with an oyster card, take our mobile phone out with us, or visit a shop, hospital, the GP surgery, bank, or get photographed by a CCTV camera, because computers keep all those records for us these days.
But in spite of the last ten years of computer innovation, here we are again and today is the day. Perhaps 2031 will be the year that the census form will no longer need to be completed by each household. I still believe that when we need to do it all over again, there will be a lot less questions involved, as more and more of the information will be gleaned from the computer images and digital detail that we all know exists these days.
RY, Peckham
LPG found some pointers in case you are planning to complete your form online...
…some other related information…
…and where to start if you want to check on your family history…
