March 21st – Census 2021

It’s census time again!

Since 1801 we have carried out a nationwide census every 10 years.

As a former student of history I have been fascinated by the census as they are unique moments capturing the entire population. Although I have a historical interest, the census is actually about the future and really important for shaping the next 10 years, helping inform decisions about services, like healthcare.

To find out more you can visit the website at www.census.gov.uk which, I have to be honest, I found a little bland but they have good social media accounts, Facebook: Census 2021 and Twitter: @Census2021

All the data captured by the census is anonymised and your data is protected by law. I found out this week that your data remains confidential for 100 years! Those who filled in the census form in 1921 will not have the data made available until next year.

I remember in 2001 there was an unofficial campaign for people to say they were a Jedi under the religion question. Over 390,000 people in England & Wales said they were a Jedi, almost 0.8% of the population. In Brighton 2.6% of the population stated they were a Jedi on their census form.

The 1871 census wanted to capture details about what was called ‘grave infirmities’ and asked if people were blind, dead-dumb, idiots or lunatics! Not exactly politically correct by 21st century standards.

Nevertheless, the Census is extremely important and essential that we all fill it in!