and i beleve HattiFattner is working for Capita on the census so is perhaps not quite so impartial
Yep, they may, or may not, pay me the princely sum of £8 an hour (before tax) to work evenings banging on peoples doors and asking them why they havent filled in their forms, only to be met with a load of old codwallop about lockheed.
Despite completing all the online recuritment and attending a training course, I still dont actually have a contract or job offer, so technically, I am not working for anyone. I am unemployed. So this little job for 1 whole month will mean I can take my family on a "luxurious" camping holiday. Happy days!
Another little nugget of information for you.
You can fill in any name you like on the form if you wish - Tona Turner, Mickey Mouse, Luke Skywalker - No-one is going to cross check your identity with any other database, as there are 65m+ people being counted. You can lie about anything you wish - its your choice, and you will be breaking the law, but the chances of them finding this out, when they have 65m people to count is virtually nil.
You can say you have 1 person or 6 people in your household (you can 30 if you do it online) and you can make up all their details if you so desire. You'll be breaking the law, but you probably wont be caught,let alone prosecuted.
If you dont fill in the form, you are a sitting duck for the CPS - an easy peasy prosecution, and £1000 fine ch-ching. That will do nicely to add to the chancellors moneypot.
However, there is an old IT adage: Crap in equals Crap out. If you put in duff data, dont expect the data coming out of the census, the data being used to determine future services, to be any good.
If you decide to put in crap, you lose the right to ever whinge about a lack of services in your area ever again. DO not complain if your child doesnt get a school place. DO not whinge if your elderly dependant mother cant get a bed in hospital or care home. Do not whinge if you cannot get a doctors appointment in less than 4 weeks. No complaints if planners build 150 houses on your door step with parking for 75, based on the statistical data that people dont have cars. Dont complain if they decide to scrap the bus service serving your area.
Boycott all you like, but please dont feign huge indignation at cuts in services if you do not fill in the form correctly as you will only have yourself to blame.
I speak as one of the unemployed, in an area of significant deprivation and child poverty. I'll be ensuring my form is completely accurate in the hope that local government might give us a childrens playpark. They might let us keep our sure start service. They might reverse their decision on scrapping the school bus. they might pull their finger out and build a new school (or at least a couple of classrooms) for the 60 senior school kids that will be without a place in 3 years time.