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Census (England and Wales) Order 2009

I thank noble Lords for a robust, vigorous and detailed discussion. That was as it should be because, as the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, said, this is an extremely important subject. Like the noble Lord, Lord Stoddart, I am a little disappointed that more Members of the House were not interested in it, because, as the noble Lord, Lord Bates, said, the census will influence not millions or billions but trillions of pounds of spending by the public sector during the next 10 to 12 years. So it is big stuff. I start by saying that I have good news for Lady Stoddart, which is that she will be able to put "English" as her nationality on the census. I hope the noble Lord will be able to give her that news. I ask noble Lords for their patience with my replies because there is quite a bit to get through. The noble Lord, Lord Bates, asked about costs and whether there was a possibility of a reduction in them in the light of the economic climate that we are experiencing. Costs have been drawn very tightly by the ONS and its contractual programme. It has already spent 20 per cent of that sum of £480 million, 50 per cent is further committed to fixed-price contracts and any further reduction would impact on the quality of the census population estimates. I go back to the point, which we have all appreciated, that the quality of these statistics will influence an enormous amount of spending over the next decade. Therefore, the quality has got to be right. We must not skimp or cut corners, as the noble Lord, Lord Maclennan, put it, on quality—it is the main point that we have to keep our eye on.