EVALUATION OF LEGISLATION - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Project
Objective
The aim of the Legislation project was to ensure that:
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The
legislative procedures necessary to put into effect the
arrangements to carry out the 2001 Census were followed; |
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The
arrangements conformed to other legislation and
confidentiality requirements; and, |
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Ministers and senior Departmental
officials were kept fully informed with the plans for, and
progress on, the Census. |
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The primary aims
of the project were achieved. There was extended consideration of
the census proposals, particularly those reflecting the requirements
for the new question of ethnic group in Northern Ireland, the
revised question on religion, the proposed question on income and
the date of the Census.
The built in
contingency for delays were adequate to ensure that final deadlines
were met. The transfer of powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly
and the subsequent suspension of the Assembly caused some timetable
problems but these were overcome.
Though this
project liaised with other projects, the report is written
independently and therefore should be considered within the context
of other evaluations.
Legislative
framework
The key milestones required to establish the legislative
framework for the 2001 Census were achieved. These included:
The
White Paper
The White Paper on the 2001 Census Of Population was presented to
Parliament jointly by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury and the
Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland. The paper
drew on the consultation process for data needs and set out the
Government’s proposals for the questions to be covered, together
with a background to the need for information. It also covered
confidentiality issues, the arrangements for conducting the Census
in the field, the processing of the data and disseminating the
results, and the legislation to give effect to these arrangements.
The White Paper
was published in March 1999, two years before the Census, in order
that there should be time for public discussion of proposals.
Census
Order and Regulations
Parliamentary approval for the Census Order is required in order
that:
The date on
which the Census is to be taken;
The persons by whom, and with respect to whom, the returns for the
purpose of the Census are to be made; and
The particulars to be stated in the returns; the matters in
respect of which particulars may be required are set out in the
Schedule to the Act
may be specified
in secondary legislation.
The Order was made
in May 2000 which provided sufficient time for the subsequent
Regulations to be made, enabling the appointments of field staff to
be made on time.
Date
of the Census
There was only a limited choice for the most suitable date for the
2001 Census and a date of 29 April was announced in 1996. This date
was close to the 2001 local elections in England that were planned
to take place on 3 May and the local district elections in Northern
Ireland which were planned to take place on 15 May. The outbreak of
Foot and Mouth disease led to the postponement of these elections
until 7 June, so the overlap of census and election campaign
activities was largely avoided.
Security
and Confidentiality
The security and confidentiality of personal census information is
protected by means of several measures and procedures. There are
statutory provisions that protect against the disclosure of
confidential information collected in the Census, and security and
disclosure control measures are adopted to protect the physical
security of the forms and the data during processing and the
integrity of the resulting statistical information made available in
output.
All
such measures were subject to independent review and the results of
these were reported to Parliament prior to the Census itself.
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