29.03.2010 Heather the Weather makes census forecast as countdown begins to 2011
Better known for forecasting the weather, TV presenter and meteorologist Heather Reid was predicting an improved outlook for services across Scotland as she launched the one-year countdown to the 2011 Census.
Set to be held on Sunday 27 March 2011, the census is the only survey of every one of Scotland’s five million people and plays a vital role in deciding how billions of pounds worth of future public services are planned.
As one of Scotland’s biggest projects next year, the census will impact on people’s everyday lives for the next decade by helping decide how best to deliver public services, like health, housing, education and transport.
The census has practical benefits for everyone in Scotland, according to Heather: “The outlook for the next 12 months is for high pressure preparations for one of the most important days of the decade.
“If everyone completes the questionnaire, we will see the benefits in our everyday lives whether it is the buses or trains we take or the education and healthcare available locally. The 2011 Census is a vitally important day for Scotland and will shape our futures for the next 10 years.”
The date for the 2011 Census is the earliest since the first of the 10-year national censuses in 1801.
The Scottish Parliament is considering legislation that will confirm the census questions - 13 household questions and up to 35 questions for each individual. Five years of research and consultation have gone into the choice, designed to provide the Scottish Government, local councils, the health service and many other users in the public, commercial and voluntary sectors with the statistical snapshot of Scotland’s population which they need.
Registrar General Duncan Macniven, who is overseeing the preparations for the census, said:
“It is going to be a very busy year for us, to ensure that on 27 March 2011 everyone can be included on a questionnaire.
“Over the next 12 months we will recruit around 6,000 census takers, make arrangements to print and distribute more than 2 million questionnaires and fine tune our new arrangements to give householders the option to fill in their questionnaire online in either English or Gaelic.
“The personal details collected through the census are safeguarded by law and kept confidential for 100 years. Only then will the individual census records be available to future generations as a rich source of information about 21st century Scotland.”
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