CorpComms Magazine

So which smart Alec management consultant came up with this idea?

Statistician John Rickman, no relation to Alan, wrote an academic paper in 1796 on how easy it would be to count the population of Great Britain. It wasn't a new idea; England's first census was recorded with quill pens in the Domesday Book in 1086. But it attracted government attention, and on 10 March 1801, Rickman led the first census of England and Wales. It revealed a population of 8.87 million, plus half a million or so soldiers, seaman and convicts not available for counting, giving a final total of 9.4 million.

And it's every ten years?

Yes, the census has painted a very detailed picture of life in England and Wales over the past two centuries, with two notable omissions. The Second World War prevented the 1941 census while the 1931 census returns of England and Wales were mostly destroyed by fire.

Why does the government care?

The first census was really just a headcount, because the government was worried that there was not enough food. But it wasn't hugely popular - some people feared it would incur the wrath of God (à la King David and his census of the Israelites) while others worried about the information falling into enemy hands. Today, the data is used in policy decisions and central funding debates with devolved and local authorities.

Is it true most Britons are really Jedi?

Not everyone, but more than 390,000 people in England and Wales (almost 0.8 per cent of the population) stated their religion as Jedi on the 2001 census form. It was the first time the question was posed. Actually, the census' director of reporting and analysis claims that people who would not otherwise have filled in a form did so that year to claim they were a Jedi, thus unknowingly improving the quality of information.

I hear this could be the last census?

Well, even with the opportunity to file online, this is an expensive operation, costing at least £480 million. Its detractors, who include the current government, claim it is expensive, inaccurate and inefficient. Almost one million men under the age of 40 were missed out last time: possibly cause they were down the pub. It's also out of date almost as soon as it's completed, and with extensive personal data held by almost every other public body (and even retailers like Tesco) do we really need to know that granny stayed overnight on 27 March 2011?

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