To want to tell you that the census is supposd to be filledi n on the 27th MARCH

[hairylights]

and not when you get it?

People all over mumsnet seem to be filling it in already?

linky which explains why

Yes but if you know that you're not going to be away or having visitors on the 27th what's the problem?

that link also say

"The answers you give should be about the people living or staying with you on that day, even if you fill in your questionnaire before, on, or after 27 March 2011"

If you know who will be in your house on the 27th no reason at all you can't fill it in before.

No it's not. The official documentation says it may be filled in at any time as long as it reflects what the situation will be on 27th March. So you're wrong.

Quite how we're all supposed to be able to predict the future is, of course, another question...

I think most people know when it's supposed to be filled in. But if you know who's going to be in your house on the 27th, I don't see the harm in doing it now.

Funnily enough, I am not planning unchanging my name etc between now and the 27th.

I know. I dont actually care. If they are threatening to fine me if i don't do it then i will fill it in and send it as soon as i get it.

Otherwise it will get forgotten about and i will be an extra £1000 in debt. I can't pay off half my debts as it its. So if thats how they are going to be, then they will get it filled in when its convenient.

on changing. Not unchanging.

Damn autocorrect.

If you fill it in online and don't hit the 'submit' button you can go back and change it should you get unexpected visitors etc. At the due date it will submit itself.... I don't think a few days makes much of a difference really.

I'm getting married on the 26th, i know i will not be thinking about filling in a census on the 27th, so i have done mine 'as if' its the 27th, with my new name/details :o) If for any reason he doesnt turn up and it doesnt go ahead, i shan't post it!
Sorry that i have bothered you!!

Our house is empty on 27th, the faq on the website says if that is the case fill it in before you go or after you return. So the actual date seems unimportant.

Then why is the website live?

It's just I thought it was supposed to be a 'snapshot' of what was going on in people's lives on that particular date. I thought that was the whole point of the census.

I've already sent mine. Enforcing completion by the whole country on one day wouldn't be enforceable. I know the 3 of us will be here and no-one will be staying.

yes it is - that's why you fill it in as your household will be on the 27th............the chances of me having overnight guests on the 27th are.........ermm nil. My children would still have to be included even if they spent the night at their dad's (again chances of that Nil - especially as it's a Sunday night)..........

I suppose one of us could die......which would be rather unfortunate - but thankfully the chances of that are (I hope ) extremely small.

The website would crash if everybody tried to do it on one day, surely?

Our lives (barring something horrific happening) will be absolutely identical on the 27th as they are now, so I've done it and got it out the way. Should something horrific happen to make my answers incorrect, I should think I won't give a flying fuck about the census.

actually given that people die and people are born every single day there must be some sort of system "within the system" to account for that that unpredictability.

I just want to let people on MN know, in case they were unaware...

...the census is not actually the boss of you FFS! Just do what you want. As long as you fill the bloody thing in so you don't get fined, I don't see the problem.

There's such a thing as overthinking things y'know!

I'm waiting, because there's a very good chance we will have a new person to put on the form - and I don't know their name yet!

Blimey!

I work Saturday nights from 9pm until 8am. My partner will be at work on the Sunday.

I will NOT be spending my Sunday filling in a form, that's my day for chilling out!

Well I'm due to have a baby on the 26th, so we aren't filling it in until the baby is either here - or emphatically NOT here still on the 27th! :)
If the baby has arrived then my parents will be staying overnight, or possibly just my Mum.

Moogirl - it takes (haven't done it myself yet) about 5 or 10 minutes online.............

Well if we all get hit by a meteorite between now and the 27th, my having filled in a census early will be the least of their worries.

LOL LMHF

I can see the point in waiting in BellaBear's case, you don't want to potentially leave someone out but I've already done mine online. Way easier than filling out the proper form. Nothing is likely to change by the 27th in my house. No fucker ever visits me, so that's not a problem.

So, yes YABU. The website wouldn't be up and running for people to do it if it wasn't mean to be an option.