Census 2021

[brogdale]

The 2021 Census for England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be held on March 21st this year and i thought it might be useful to have a thread to consider this decadal 'snapshot' of the population.



The official Governmental website for the Census appears to omit any reference to the corporate interests contracted to undertake key aspects of the data collection, collation and digitisation of the process. Three corporations with large contracts include:

1. Leidos UK (Leidos Innovations UK Ltd, Leidos Europe Ltd, Leidos Supply Ltd & Leidos Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, [formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)]. Leidos is an American Defense, Aviation, Information Technology (Lockheed Martin IS&GS), and Biomedical Research company headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that provides scientific, engineering, systems integration, and technical services. Leidos merged with Lockheed Martin's IT sector in August 2016 for Information Systems & Global Solutions business to create the defense industry’s largest IT services provider.

(in 2011 Lockheed Martin's IT sector was awarded an estimated £150 million contract for the UK census)

2. The Adecco Group, a Swiss Human Resources provider and temporary staffing firm (2nd largest globally) is contracted by ONS to recruit, train and administer the pay for the 30,000 temporary ONS workers who will be working as field staff for the 2021 census.

3. M&C Saatchi advertising agency have been contracted to produce an advertising campaign launched under the slogan of 'it's about us' at the start of 2021.

Some here will recall that in 2011 a number of groups called for a boycott of the census based upon the involvement of Lockheed Martin:

Several groups called for a boycott of the census over the involvement of Lockheed Martin, including the Stop the War Coalition, and the Christian thinktank Ekklesia. The groups were concerned about sharing data with a company involved in surveillance and data processing for the CIA and FBI; and also providing funding to an arms company making nuclear missiles and cluster bombs.The Green Party also objected, and campaigned unsuccessfully to stop Lockheed Martin getting the contract, although no decision was made about whether or not to call for a boycott.

Wonder if they'll be any similar debate about this year's event?

For transparency I feel duty bound to say that I declined to engage with the 2011 Census due, in part, to the Lockheed contract.

 

[platinumsage]

I've not heard a peep this time. I remember previous censuses being big news for months.

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

I've not heard a peep this time. I remember previous censuses being big news for months.

It's almost as if something else has been dominating the news.

 

[brogdale]

I've not heard a peep this time. I remember previous censuses being big news for months.

According to Wiki there are only a few changes to the 2011 questions, but those added look capable of generating some 'debate':

 

[platinumsage]

Perhaps whether or not someone is asked to answer a question about their gender or whatever on a government form doesn't seem worth getting excited about when the government has made it illegal to leave your home or meet your family.

 

[cupid_stunt]

They were advertising for door knockers around here, and with so little work on due to covid, I almost applied, then thought I don't fancy knocking doors, due to covid.

 

[brogdale]

Perhaps whether or not someone is asked to answer a question about their gender or whatever on a government form doesn't seem worth getting excited about when the government has made it illegal to leave your home or meet your family.

We'll see...

 

[brogdale]

They were advertising for door knockers around here, and with so little work on due to covid, I almost applied, then thought I don't fancy knocking doors, due to covid.

Making the Scottish decision look a good one.

 

[Pickman's model]

The 2021 Census for England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be held on March 21st this year and i thought it might be useful to have a thread to consider this decadal 'snapshot' of the population.

View attachment 254388

The official Governmental website for the Census appears to omit any reference to the corporate interests contracted to undertake key aspects of the data collection, collation and digitisation of the process. Three corporations with large contracts include:

1. Leidos UK (Leidos Innovations UK Ltd, Leidos Europe Ltd, Leidos Supply Ltd & Leidos Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leidos, [formerly known as Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)]. Leidos is an American Defense, Aviation, Information Technology (Lockheed Martin IS&GS), and Biomedical Research company headquartered in Reston, Virginia, that provides scientific, engineering, systems integration, and technical services. Leidos merged with Lockheed Martin's IT sector in August 2016 for Information Systems & Global Solutions business to create the defense industry’s largest IT services provider.

(in 2011 Lockheed Martin's IT sector was awarded an estimated £150 million contract for the UK census)

2. The Adecco Group, a Swiss Human Resources provider and temporary staffing firm (2nd largest globally) is contracted by ONS to recruit, train and administer the pay for the 30,000 temporary ONS workers who will be working as field staff for the 2021 census.

3. M&C Saatchi advertising agency have been contracted to produce an advertising campaign launched under the slogan of 'it's about us' at the start of 2021.

Some here will recall that in 2011 a number of groups called for a boycott of the census based upon the involvement of Lockheed Martin:



Wonder if they'll be any similar debate about this year's event?

For transparency I feel duty bound to say that I declined to engage with the 2011 Census due, in part, to the Lockheed contract.

They trialled this in hackney last year or the year before so I successfully trialled refusing to take part

 

[Lord Camomile]

According to Wiki there are only a few changes to the 2011 questions, but those added look capable of generating some 'debate':

View attachment 254395

I didn't look into it at the time, but caught some stuff on my Twitter feed that seemed to suggest there's a campaign around that third one from... I think 'gender critical', is their personal preferred term?

 

[stethoscope]

Previous (2011) census thread here fwiw @brogdale.

I seem to remember the last one I eventually completed in a half arsed way, but I'd been skinning up for a few days prior with it on the nest of tables and the form was covered in ash

 

[JTG]

I didn't look into it at the time, but caught some stuff on my Twitter feed that seemed to suggest there's a campaign around that third one from... I think 'gender critical', is their personal preferred term?

'cranks'

 

[xenon]

Can you fill it out online?

 

[brogdale]

Can you fill it out online?

Yep.

 

[xenon]

I might do it then. I honestly can’t remember if I did it last time.

 

[rutabowa]

I got anofficer (ie door knocker) job! should be a nice job for a couple of months.... outside, local.

 

[chilango]

Haven't been on the census since 1991

 

[belboid]

It is meant to be ALL online - with paper copies available upon request, but that wont be pushed much because they want to do it all online.

Even 'door knockers' will be working a lot from home (!) and doing as much as possible from there, tho I'm not sure of what ratio that will be yet.

I fear that there is an evil plan afoot for this census to be badly carried out and to fail to reach 90% of the population (it was 96% in 2011) and that the tories, who have always hated the full census, will use that as an excuse to do away with the whole thing, maybe just run a 10% version like the yanks.

 

[belboid]

Haven't been on the census since 1991

Well fecking do it this year! It's not signing your bloody soul away and it is incredibly useful data.

 

[rutabowa]

I fear that there is an evil plan afoot for this census to be badly carried out

NOT ON MY WATCH

 

[belboid]

I didn't look into it at the time, but caught some stuff on my Twitter feed that seemed to suggest there's a campaign around that third one from... I think 'gender critical', is their personal preferred term?

Yes, they got virtually everything they asked for and are complaining anyway.

 

[chilango]

Well fecking do it this year! It's not signing your bloody soul away and it is incredibly useful data.

I wasn't in the country for 2001 or 2011.

I'm on the Portuguese and Mexican censuses instead!

 

[belboid]

I wasn't in the country for 2001 or 2011.

I'm on the Portuguese and Mexican censuses instead!

well that's just cheating!

 

[brogdale]

It's not signing your bloody soul away and it is incredibly useful data.

But by completing/returning you are engaging with the state to undertake an exercise that it itself believes is of limited value and can't conduct without sub-contracting to US arms manufacturers.

The neoliberal consolidator state will drop this exercise that costs more than can be recouped in commercial data sales.

 

[belboid]

We engage with the state every day. And whilst the government may say it believes the data is of limited value, we all know that their notions of value and ours are somewhat different. The census has been a vital tool in planning for decades and will continue to be so - as long as we still believe in social planning not just leaving everything to the market.

The involvement of arms manufacturers is obnoxious, but so is much of life and it is far from a good enough reason to refuse to co-operate - especially when non-cooperation will lead, not to an arms manufacturerless census, but a reduction in knowledge and in our ability to plan according to need.

 

[brogdale]

We engage with the state every day. And whilst the government may say it believes the data is of limited value, we all know that their notions of value and ours are somewhat different. The census has been a vital tool in planning for decades and will continue to be so - as long as we still believe in social planning not just leaving everything to the market.

The involvement of arms manufacturers is obnoxious, but so is much of life and it is far from a good enough reason to refuse to co-operate - especially when non-cooperation will lead, not to an arms manufacturerless census, but a reduction in knowledge and in our ability to plan according to need.

What "we" believe about the value of censal data counts for nothing to the consolidator state. They don't want to plan for public provision of service only for opportunities to transfer taxes on labour into corporate contracts. They don't believe in planning, let alone 'social planning'.

 

[belboid]

They might not, but they are not the only ones with access to the data. And they wont always be the government. The census info is used by a massive range of organisations, it helps draw up pictures of smaller and more marginalised communities, it helps to counter bullshit about the numbers of migrants etc etc, it helps charities provide clear and indisputable evidence of need, it helps councils plan where to build schools, tc etc.

Even within bourgeois government, it is a major factor in the allocation of resources according to population. Returns are already lower in poorer areas and by reducing the population it leads to a reduction in available expenditure.

 

[StoneRoad]

I've been an enumerator twice. I don't think I would do it again.

Crap pay for a lot of foot slogging ! neither time did I have much aggro from people in "my" ED .
However, I did get some problems with the dole office. It was supposed to be totally disregarded, but some of the counter staff didn't seem to know that.

 

[souljacker]

We engage with the state every day. And whilst the government may say it believes the data is of limited value, we all know that their notions of value and ours are somewhat different. The census has been a vital tool in planning for decades and will continue to be so - as long as we still believe in social planning not just leaving everything to the market.

The involvement of arms manufacturers is obnoxious, but so is much of life and it is far from a good enough reason to refuse to co-operate - especially when non-cooperation will lead, not to an arms manufacturerless census, but a reduction in knowledge and in our ability to plan according to need.

If you don't want to deal with arms manufacturers, you'd need to stop using postal services in the UK (Lockheed Martin manage and run sorting office machines).

 

[brogdale]

They might not, but they are not the only ones with access to the data. And they wont always be the government. The census info is used by a massive range of organisations, it helps draw up pictures of smaller and more marginalised communities, it helps to counter bullshit about the numbers of migrants etc etc, it helps charities provide clear and indisputable evidence of need, it helps councils plan where to build schools, tc etc.

Even within bourgeois government, it is a major factor in the allocation of resources according to population. Returns are already lower in poorer areas and by reducing the population it leads to a reduction in available expenditure.

Nah, reduced expenditure in poorer areas is not the result of deficiencies in spatial demographic data sets; it's the inevitable outcome of neoliberal, consolidator state policies.

I'm aware of the reasons that the state offers for the census; it's just that they're unbelievable.