Census form

cupcake88

Hi there I just got a census form in the post never heard of one before but apparently each house hold has to fill one out . I’m really confused I’m going to have my partner fill it out it’s so confusing they ask so many questions bout work when I don’t work I’m guessing there’s a disabled box you can tick . What is it I don’t like booklets work so many questions in is it a government thing or like a survey . 

They also ask bout qualifications like what GCSEs I got which I can’t remember . 

Cher_Alumni

Hello @cupcake88

The census is compulsory to complete and is sent to houses in England and Wales every ten years to:

help organisations make decisions on planning and funding public services in your area, including transport, education and healthcare.

If you're finding it difficult to fill in and inaccessible, it might be worth speaking to someone from the Census contact team to see if they can support you.  This is a link to all their contact details including a web chat.  Please let us know how you get on

OverlyAnxious

I'm a bit surprised you've never heard of the census!  It's happened every 10 years for the last 200 years or so.  

It's basically a record of the whole country on one specific day each decade to see how the population has changed etc over time.  They're often used for family tree searches if you ever watch programmes like Who Do You Think You Are?

You don't have to fill it in if you don't want to.  And if you can't remember something you can just leave it blank.  The more people that do fill it in though, the better idea the government get of the country as a whole which could be used to improve services in future.

cupcake88

Oh cool so it’s a government thing that’s good so it looks at how it can improve the country that’s good I’ll get my partner to fill it out as I’m not very good with filling forms out I’m guessing he fill it our for me , 

cupcake88

I see you can tick disabled . Is it confidential because it’s a lot of questions I can see 

MarkM88

OverlyAnxious said:

I'm a bit surprised you've never heard of the census!  It's happened every 10 years for the last 200 years or so.  

It's basically a record of the whole country on one specific day each decade to see how the population has changed etc over time.  They're often used for family tree searches if you ever watch programmes like Who Do You Think You Are?

You don't have to fill it in if you don't want to.  And if you can't remember something you can just leave it blank.  The more people that do fill it in though, the better idea the government get of the country as a whole which could be used to improve services in future.

If you don’t you risk a £1000 fine.

cupcake88 said:

Oh cool so it’s a government thing that’s good so it looks at how it can improve the country that’s good I’ll get my partner to fill it out as I’m not very good with filling forms out I’m guessing he fill it our for me , 

I’m pretty sure you can complete it online. 

cupcake88

Yes you get fined apparently my partner said he will fill it in online next week I’m not good at filling out forms I get really anxious . Even simple forms I can’t do . 

Tori_Scope

You can indeed complete it online. Here is the link in case anyone else is wondering. You just need your 16-character access code, which can be found on your letter. If you lose your letter, you can request a new access code. All of the information is on the link I've provided  

Kit_

For the last census, my mum got a job going to peoples houses to help them fill it in if they hadn’t done it already. I’m not sure how it’s going to work with covid restrictions but there should be help and support available for anyone who is struggling to complete it by themselves. 

MarkM88

Kit_ said:

For the last census, my mum got a job going to peoples houses to help them fill it in if they hadn’t done it already. I’m not sure how it’s going to work with covid restrictions but there should be help and support available for anyone who is struggling to complete it by themselves. 

There has been jobs advertised just like that, so I think it’s available but will be covid secure. 

OverlyAnxious

MarkN88 said:

OverlyAnxious said:

I'm a bit surprised you've never heard of the census!  It's happened every 10 years for the last 200 years or so.  

It's basically a record of the whole country on one specific day each decade to see how the population has changed etc over time.  They're often used for family tree searches if you ever watch programmes like Who Do You Think You Are?

You don't have to fill it in if you don't want to.  And if you can't remember something you can just leave it blank.  The more people that do fill it in though, the better idea the government get of the country as a whole which could be used to improve services in future.

If you don’t you risk a £1000 fine.

Yes, I stand corrected on that!  Just came back to this thread to correct myself. 

Seems odd that they're putting adverts on TV trying to persuade people to do it if it's a legal requirement! 

MarkM88

@OverlyAnxious not sure how widely the fine is actually enforced though. 

wilko

it’s it’s all online this time around, you can fill it in early or wait till the 21-3-21 .@woodbine posted did his in 10 minutes anybody doing theirs quicker, if nothing changed since the last one will the comment no change be ok.

Tori_Scope

There are indeed Census Support Centres @MarkN88 @Kit_. They're working differently this year due to the restrictions caused by coronavirus, but you can find out more here on the website. 

Our Census Support Centres will help with general census queries, help you to fill in your online census or paper form, and discuss other ways to support you. We are keen to open these as soon as it is possible to do so safely.

Some phone support will be available from our Centres from Monday 1 March, but they cannot open fully during lockdown. As restrictions are eased, we will continue to monitor the situation and assess whether and where Centres can open to provide in-person support.

MarkM88

@Tori_Scope thanks for that, I always knew there was support available, but didn't know exactly how much differently they might be this time round. 

Tori_Scope

No problem @MarkN88 It seems as they're not 100% sure either, as it's so difficult for them to plan ahead. Hopefully the phone support will be helpful, and they can expand the service soon. 

deb74

Did mine online yesterday. I hate filling in forms. (I always make mistakes so filling them in online is great. If you make a mistake you can just delete it. I panic if I have to fill in a form on paper. I usually get my dad to fill in any paper forms for me then I know they will be filled in properly.

MarkM88

Ive not received my code yet. 

ChrisW

If it's anonymous and you don't fill it in how can they find you to fine you?
I have to admit I have only ever filled in one census form and that was 1981, I've never received another one until this morning.
I've always lived in England when they've been due.

cartha

MarkN88 said:

@OverlyAnxious not sure how widely the fine is actually enforced though. 

Just speaking for myself, I have never filled in one of these forms before and never had a fine. I don't remember ever receiving a reminder, either. I just never got around to them and they ended up in the bin some time after they expired. I haven't received mine yet for this year.

Does every question have to be answered to avoid the fine, or is the fine only for people who don't send it back?  I remember one time people were being encouraged to put "Jedi" for their religion to try to get it recognised officially so I wonder how accurate these census results really are. I bet making head or tail of all the new gender descriptions is going to be interesting. They can't really put a tick-box for that any more, there seem to be so many.

cartha

MarkN88 said:

Ive not received my code yet. 

What code is that?