At the Area Assembly held at South Harringay Juniors last night, one of the more interesting items on the agenda was a short talk from Simon McKeown about the
2011 census (not a PowerPoint slide in sight, hurrah!)
As Michelle commented
here, due to a below national average return, Haringey's population is significantly underestimated and, as a result, funding for Haringey for key sevices is below what it should be to cope with demand.
Simon was at the meeting, first of all, to make a plea that we ensure that everyone in the community fills in the form. Unlike the electoral register, the data collected is closed for 100 years and no one (and he emphasised this a number of times) from police to immigration to debt collection agencies to telemarketers can get hold of it. Many people don't complete the form for fear that their information will be released to government departments or other unsavoury characters.
Another misconception is that you don't need to fill it in if you are in temporary accomodation in Haringey. The census is a snapshot so how long you plan to stay is irrelevant.
Simon mentioned that, for the first time, the census form may be filled in online as well as via the more traditional routes.
He also told us that the census is looking to recruit local people to work within their own communities on the Census. People with more than one language are particularly welcome for Haringey but the point he wanted to make is that people are more likely to respond favourably to a familiar face knocking on their door than a stranger. Details of how to get a job with the 2011 census can be found at
censusjobs.co.uk
Although Simon steered clear of any political statement, he did make the point that with the tsunami of cuts coming our way, getting a high turnout on the census (National Average last time was 93%, Haringey 87%) will at least ensure that Haringey gets the funding that it needs to cover its population. He also commented that there would be a lot more publicity and energy put into this one than the last one, so expect to see more about this topic in the future.