Missed Data?

Yesterday was the official date of the 2011 UK census, where all households have by law to declare certain facts. These include the total number and details of anyone present overnight, the type of housing (number of bedrooms etc). You get the picture. We have a Census every 10 years with the only exception being WW2, I believe.

I'm not sure exactly how long it will take the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to upload all the data and start producing (meaningful) information. The idea is that this will directly influence the future provision of infrastructure such as roads, schools, houses and hospitals. As a result this will also have a direct bearing on future taxation, and there was me thinking the Government just plucked a figure out of thin air LOL. The only information that will be published will be statistical trends, with the raw data locked away until 2111.

I dutifully completed mine yesterday and popped it back in the post. I could have submitted it electronically, completing on-line but I felt there's something nice knowing in 100 years time my descendants- should they wish- will be able to actually view my handwriting. Perhaps I'm a little old fashioned...

Anyway I did notice one omission from the questionnaire which given the make up of many modern families seems quite major. Nowhere on the form is there a question relating to the number of offspring under age 18 who for whatever reason live at another address. To me this seems quite important and something of a missed opportunity to gather meaningful data. Did this not occur to the ONS when they spent the last 10 years planning the Census? Perhaps they are all middle class men of a certain age, nicely secure in their slightly out-of-step view of society and insulated from the real world?

Maybe my outlook isn't so old fashioned after all.


Update: It's also been pointed out that for some unknown reason, the current Census does not ask for middle names. Strange.