Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Julie Morgan (Labour). It was answered on Wednesday, 27 January 2010 on behalf of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

2011 Census

Question: What efforts are being made to reach groups that are traditionally difficult to reach, such as ethnic groups or Gypsies and Travellers?

Answer: The ONS has put additional work into that. More than £2 million will be spent to encourage organisations and individuals who have been more reluctant to respond to the census to encourage them to do so. Billions of pounds of public money is allocated in expenditure each year, and it is right that we have projections of where the population lives and what the needs of future populations will be. That applies to all populations in this country, so every effort will be made and extra resources will be put into ensuring that those people are able to respond.

Secondary information