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Census

Answer

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply. Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Laird, dated 2010. As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (a) what percentage of respondents selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census; (b) why Irish is the only white ethnic group specifically named on the proposed 2011 census form other than those of the home countries/British and Gypsies or Irish travellers; and (c) whether there will be a change to the proposed form to allow ethnic Irish respondents to inscribe "Irish" in "Any other White background" like other European Union nationals. (HL743) (a) The percentage of all respondents who selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census in England and Wales was 1.23 per cent. (b) Consultation on the 2011 census content identified a strong need for comparison of ethnic group statistics with the 2001 census. Consultation also showed that statistics users were happy with the ethnic populations measured in the 2001 census. The Office for National Statistics therefore recommended that the 2001 categories should all be retained in the 2011 census. A particular case had been made for the inclusion of an Irish category in the 2001 census by representatives of the Irish community in Britain, and others, and thus this response category has been retained. However, in a prioritisation exercise carried out to decide if any additional categories should be included in the 2011 census, of the several considered no other category within the "White" ethnic group except "Gypsy or Irish Traveller" scored sufficiently high enough. Where it has been possible the existing categories have been cognitively tested to ensure that the question is still acceptable. (c) The Census Order, which details the questions to be asked in the census, was debated in the House of Lords on 3 December, and Parliament has now approved the order. However, if for any reason, respondents prefer not to tick the "Irish" box but to write in "Irish" under "Any other ethnic White background", they can do so.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

743; 716 c155-6WA

Session

2009-10

Related items

Census
Monday, 15 March 2010
Written questions
House of Lords

Subjects

Census Ethnic groups Ireland (island)

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk