Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Census Rehearsal
Around 10,000 Lewis and Harris households are invited to take part in a rehearsal for the biggest and most comprehensive population survey: the census.
By taking part in the rehearsal residents will help Scotland’s organiser, the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS), to make sure that people understand the questions and to help it assess whether the questionnaire delivery and processing arrangements are suitable for the next Scotland-wide census in 2011.
GROS asks people in the following post code areas to complete their rehearsal questionnaires on, or as soon as possible after, Sunday 29 March:
- HS1 2
- HS2 0
- HS2 9
- HS3 3
- HS4 3
- HS5 3
Anyone in these areas who has not received a questionnaire can still take part by contacting the census website or Helpline. Enumerators (census takers) will visit households that have not returned a questionnaire over the next few weeks.
This is the first time most householders will have the option to fill in their census questionnaire online, in English or Gaelic.
As in the full census, all personal information about individuals is confidential.
Enumerators have been security checked and have signed an undertaking that they will protect the privacy of information. They will all carry official photographic identification. Anyone with doubts about their authenticity can contact the census helpline.
The census is a big and complex task and GROS needs to get it right in 2011 as it is the only reliable measure of the entire population. Every man, woman and child is included on census day, which takes place once every 10 years. Census results help the government, local authorities and businesses plan and provide a wide range of public services, including health, housing, transport and education.
www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk
Helpline: 0845 603 1823
Textphone: 0845 603 1824
