Census Stasi

[bgmnts]

Has anyone been contacted at their home yet, asking if they've completed The Census? Have you also been told to complete it soon if you haven't already?

The guy who buzzed earlier to ask me about it sounded like a mouse in human form. Hoping my experience is the same as everyone else's.

[pigamus]

The envelope is sitting on the stairs. Presumably I'm the one who's expected to do it.

[Captain Z]

When it came to the section on employment, I found that I could click 'continue' on every question without selecting an answer. The only time it stopped me and made me select an option was the 'what is your employment status'. Even though they weren't marked as voluntary, I was able to submit the form without giving answers to the rest.

[Fambo Number Mive]

Done mine already so won't be contacted by the Census Mouse.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Name: Lee Hurst
Sex: Yes please lol (P.S. not from men)
Number of dependents: Millions of foreigners claiming benefits
Employment status: English and proud
Job Title: Helicopter lol

[TheBrownBottle]

Wonder how many Colin Hunt types will declare themselves Jedis this year.  Or Dawkins obsessives state membership of the church of Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Proper bantz.

[FredNurke]

Not so many now they've found out that doing so will mean they're counted as being religious.

[Zetetic]

And now that Dawkins has embraced Christ.

[idunnosomename]

Wonder how many Colin Hunt types will declare themselves Jedis this year.  Or Dawkins obsessives state membership of the church of Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Proper bantz.

big div thing is putting your nationality as European

[JesusAndYourBush]

On Sunday Facebook placed a rather sternly worded message about doing the census at the top of the page.  Did anyone else get that?  (Presumably it wouldn't have done it if it'd detected the cookie, but it didn't because I'd filled in the census on a different computer.)

[The Giggling Bean]

I've always despised the Census (Lockheed Martins involvement, automatic threats against completing it etc). However I begrudgingly filled it in on the 27th March (I requested a paper form to cost them more money and manpower). That very day, as we were coming back from the shops some official bod, in a hiz viz jacket with purple trim, passed us and I commented to Mrs Bean "I bet he's a census taker". Sure enough we had a reminder flyer on our mat when we got in. I filmed myself putting it in the post box shortly afterwards...disparaging and sneering about it as I did (which will be interesting if it ends up in court).

We had a reminder letter come through on Saturday so I contacted them to let them know, stroppily, that I'd already sent it in and to stop bothering me. They said no problem, it takes about 2 weeks to process a paper form.

Unfortunately I missed the knock yesterday while we where tidying up the kitchen. There was a reminder flyer, which could only have been dropped off by a census taker, saying they'd  call again in a few days. I'm hoping it'll be the weekend so I can answer the door to them.

I followed advice from a site called demilitarise the census. I sent it back in a plain envelope so an actual person would have to process it rather than a machine...which is why I presume its taking longer to process.

Hopefully whichever bod is unlucky enough to call at my door, I can show them the video and that'll be the end of it

[canadagoose]

Ours isn't until next year. I feel left out.

[Icehaven]

I got a reminder letter a couple of days after I'd done it online, so if I get another one I'll have to contact them as something's obviously gone wrong.

Still not sure if I have to do anything about the fact we technically lived in two places on 21st March as we were moving house and that was in the middle of the tenancies overlapping by two weeks. We slept here in the new place on the night so I've done it for here, but that means there isn't one for the old flat although it was occupied (even though it wasn't, if you see what I mean.) So I dunno. I looked at the Census website's FAQ bit about empty or second homes but they didn't cover it so no idea.

[Zetetic]

I followed advice from a site called demilitarise the census. I sent it back in a plain envelope so an actual person would have to process it rather than a machine...which is why I presume its taking longer to process.

The claim that the Leidos contract is on a "fixed basis" is probably nonsense - their revenue likely scales (up to an extremely high maximum, yes) with the number of paper forms they process, while the vast majority of their overheads are probably fairly fixed.

We slept here in the new place on the night so I've done it for here, but that means there isn't one for the old flat although it was occupied (even though it wasn't, if you see what I mean.)

Complete it for the old flat, saying that no one was there on the night of the 21st. You can still complete accommodation questions IIRC.

[DrGreggles]

Someone knocked on the door a few days after it was due (no mask).

"You haven't done the census."
"Put a mask on."
*they grudgingly put on their mask on*
"Well?"
"Well... what?"
"Why haven't you done it?"
"I will when I get the letter."
"You've already got it."
"No, I haven't. That's why I haven't done it."
"All the letters were sent out weeks ago."
"So why hasn't it arrived?"
"It has, and you can be fined for not completing it."
"Was it recorded delivery?"
"No."
"So you have no idea if it was delivered or not. Whereas I do know, and it hasn't. Once it arrives, I'll fill it in*."
"Yes, but *mumbles something about a fine*..."
"Send me the bloody form then!"
"I'll make a note that you claim not to have received...
"THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVEN'T! Which part of that don't you understand?"
"I'll make a note of that."
"You do that."
*slams door*

It arrived on 31st March.

People coming to my door to tell me I'm a liar does tend to irritate me a tiny bit.


_{*thought it was still a paper form at this point}

[The Culture Bunker]

Some bod has been to my building, maybe even twice, to knock on a couple of doors. Little do they those flats are empty and have been for over a month now. I could have been nice and pointed this out to them, but the problem was I couldn't be arsed.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I feel sorry for people going round hectoring people really. Seems like a thankless task.

[The Culture Bunker]

I feel sorry for people going round hectoring people really. Seems like a thankless task.

In Manchester, at least, I think some of them (if not all) are council staff who signed up for a bit of extra cash.

[notjosh]

Wonder how many Colin Hunt types will declare themselves Jedis this year.  Or Dawkins obsessives state membership of the church of Flying Spaghetti Monster.  Proper bantz.

I put myself as Jedi as a backlash against the TheBrownBottle types who think that pointing out the absurdity of religion at every opportunity is try-hard and trite, instead of noble and necessary. Also, my sad devotion to that ancient joke makes me feel more like a Jedi than ever.

[DrGreggles]

Surely all the 'other' and 'optional' sections only exist for people to take the piss.

[Icehaven]

In Manchester, at least, I think some of them (if not all) are council staff who signed up for a bit of extra cash.

I'm a council worker (Birmingham though) and last year there was a big drive to get those of us working from home to spend a few days a week taking Covid tests around outbreak areas, but not for any extra cash, just as a kind of 'redeployment'*. I wonder if there's a similar thing with some council's using their wfh/furloughed staff as census chasers, so rather than getting extra money they're having to do it, hence the grumpiness.



*Despite my boss pushing me to do it I flat out refused, I'd have had to get 4 buses right across the city and back and then gone round knocking doors in Covid ridden areas, so no fucking way cheers.

[The Culture Bunker]

I'm a council worker (Birmingham though) and last year there was a big drive to get those of us working from home to spend a few days a week taking Covid tests around outbreak areas, but not for any extra cash, just as a kind of 'redeployment'*. I wonder if there's a similar thing with some council's using their wfh/furloughed staff as census chasers, so rather than getting extra money they're having to do it, hence the grumpiness.

In Manchester, I remember an email got sent out requesting staff to do the job, so presumably they couldn't find enough who had furloughed or suchlike. I presumed the only ones interested would be those for whom it'd pay a bit more than their current role.

Funnily enough, just seen the same bod appear at the front door again now.

[Gurke and Hare]

The census is nothing to do with councils. There was a recruitment process last year at https://www.censusjobs.co.uk/ run by the Office for National Statistics. This thread is Boomer Central.

[Icehaven]

The census is nothing to do with councils. There was a recruitment process last year at https://www.censusjobs.co.uk/ run by the Office for National Statistics. This thread is Boomer Central.

Maybe where you live but

In Manchester, I remember an email got sent out requesting staff to do the job, so presumably they couldn't find enough who had furloughed or suchlike. I presumed the only ones interested would be those for whom it'd pay a bit more than their current role.

And Birmingham council did the same for the previous Census, although I don't think they did it this time (I didn't get an email anyway).

Different councils do things differently, and in metropolitan areas with large council workforces it's an easy way to recruit temporary workers for things like the Census, Covid testing etc. (which also isn't a direct council concern afaik.)

[mjwilson]

On Sunday Facebook placed a rather sternly worded message about doing the census at the top of the page.  Did anyone else get that?  (Presumably it wouldn't have done it if it'd detected the cookie, but it didn't because I'd filled in the census on a different computer.)

I would hope Facebook wouldn't have any access to cookies created by the census site.

[Fambo Number Mive]

I wonder what percentage of people haven't returned their census forms in one format or another.

5%?

[Zetetic]

They aren't people.

[GoblinAhFuckScary]

A good friend, desperate for work, got very close to taking on the role of going door to door.

They dropped out last minute when pretty last minute when their area happened to be one of the most generally unsafe places to be in north west London. Was quite relieved they quit