Census 2011

I have been lucky enough to secure a position working for the Census 2011 in and around Skegness. I shall be working as a Special Enumerator, a fancy title for someone who delivers census forms and paperwork to muli-occumpancy dwellings such as hostels, hotels and hospitals and arranges for the forms to be completed and collected once they are filled in.

Much is being made in some areas of the press about whether or not people should take part in the census. I would suggest that it is very important that everybody does so.

Why do I say that? The information that is gathered is used to help ensure that the services provided locally match the needs of the population. All sorts of services are included in this including transport, health and education to name but a few. Skegness and the surrounding districts are known to be deprived areas so the information provided is very important to allow the correct decisions to be made regarding what the population need.

There has been some talk, as there always is, about the big brother state being nosey and the information provided not being safe. This really is scare-mongering. No individual information will be passed to any organisation whatsoever for any use. The only information that is released to the bodies responsible for providing public services is generic population data, for instance, how many people there are over 65 and not who those people are. All information is treated in the utmost confidence.

I would urge everybody to fill the forms in when they arrive. It is a legal requirement to do so and it is very important that the data produced is accurate. Don't be put off, fill your forms in when you get them. The correct public services being delivered to our community are too important not to take 10 minutes of your time.