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To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answers by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 April (WA384–5) and 23 March (WA174), why the Polish population in Scotland and England of 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively was not considered sufficiently large to justify a separate tick-box category...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to Written Answers by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 April (WA384–5) and 23 March (WA174), why the Polish population in Scotland and England of 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively was not considered sufficiently large to justify a separate tick-box category...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
(Conservative)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
12 May 2011
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated May 2011.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent Question asking: further to the Written Answers by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 6 April (WA384-5) and 23 March (WA174), (i) why the Polish population in Scotland and England of 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively was not considered sufficiently large to justify a separate tick-box category in England's census form, (ii) what is the estimated proportion of the Gypsy and Irish Traveller population in the United Kingdom; and (iii) what particular efforts were made to enumerate such nomadic peoples. (HL8922)
(i) The questions and response categories in the 2011 census take account of an extensive programme of user consultation, question research, testing and development. There were many more demands for additional tick-boxes than could possibly be accommodated on the space available on the census questionnaire. Although the ethnic group question for the 2011 census was allocated more space than that for the 2001 census, there was not enough to enable tick-boxes to be provided for all the groups present in significant numbers in the UK. With space for only two new tick boxes, a set of principles was developed by which requirements for new tick-box categories for ethnic groups could be assessed and prioritised. These covered:
strength of need for information;
lack of alternative sources of information;
clarity and quality of the information collected and acceptability to respondents; and
comparability with the 2001 census data.
Polish scored well in the prioritisation exercise but not as well as the two new ethnic group categories that have been included. However people who want to record their ethnic group as Polish will be able to do so via the write-in option. They will also be able to record their national identity as Polish via the write-in option in the national identity question. Statistics from the 2011 census will include analysis of written-in responses, so all those who record themselves as Polish will be counted as being so in the resultant statistics.
Information about the prioritisation method is published on the census website in an information paper Deciding which tick boxes to add to the ethnic group question in the 2011 England and Wales Census. To coincide with the laying of the census order before Parliament in October 2009, additional material covering the questions to be asked in the 2011 Census was placed on the census website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/question-and-content-recommendations-for-2011/index.html.
(ii) It is too early for the census to indicate yet what the estimated population of Gypsies and Irish Travellers is. I understand that the Department for Communities and Local Government do have some estimates.
(iii) Special arrangements were made to enumerate Gypsies, Travellers and people in travelling fairs. In developing the plans to do so ONS worked closely with local authority Gypsy and Traveller Liaison Officers, as well as with Gypsy and Traveller community groups. The enumeration of these groups seems to have gone well although we are not yet in a position to report on the numbers involved.
Subjects
Census; Foreign nationals; Ethnic groups; Poland; Travellers
Date
12 May 2011
Reference
8922; 727 c233-4WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 23 March (WA 173–4), what are the ““sensitivities”” in Scotland relating to the wording of the category ““Gypsy/Irish Traveller””; why those sensitivities do not occur or apply in England; and what are the numbers...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 23 March (WA 173–4), what are the ““sensitivities”” in Scotland relating to the wording of the category ““Gypsy/Irish Traveller””; why those sensitivities do not occur or apply in England; and what are the numbers...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
(Conservative)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
6 April 2011
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated April 2011.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking: (i) further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 23 March (WA 173-4), what are the ““sensitivities”” in Scotland relating to the wording of the category ““Gypsy/Irish Traveller””; why those sensitivities do not occur or apply in England; and, (ii) what are the numbers and percentages of Polish nationals in each part of the United Kingdom. (HL8121)
(i) In England and Wales there was strong evidence of need for information on Gypsies and Irish Travellers to be collected in the 2011 Census. ““Irish Travellers”” are recognised as a distinct group by that name under Race Relations Act case law and the term is now widely recognised and more commonly used by members of those communities themselves. However, the term ““Irish Traveller”” which is intended to specifically exclude ““New Age travellers”” in England and Wales is not generally used in Scotland. The census in Scotland is a devolved matter, and the responsibility for the wording of the questions there rests with the Scottish Government. The Registrar General for Scotland has advised that the term ““Gypsy/Traveller”” is used in the census in Scotland instead because that is the specific term that was used by the Scottish Parliament when it was agreed that such people should be treated as a separate ethnic group for race relations purposes.
(ii) The Office for National Statistics collects data on nationality from the Annual Population Survey (APS) which is a household survey of residents of the UK. The latest available estimates of Polish nationals relate to the 12-month period of July 2009 to June 2010 and are provided for each constituent country of the UK in the table below. Percentages have been created using the total estimated resident population for each constituent country of the UK, derived from the APS as a denominator. It should be noted that the survey does not include people living in most types of communal establishment.
"Source: Annual Population Survey (APS)/Labour Force Survey (LFS), ONS""Totals may not sum due to rounding"
"Totals may not sum due to rounding"
Confidence interval as shown here is a range within which the true value of a population count is likely to lie, and in this case, at the 95 per cent level, is defined as 1.96 x standard error. The standard error is a measure of the uncertainty associated with making inferences from a sample.
| Table 1: Polish Nationality by Countries of the UK | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Average 12 months—June 2010 | Thousands | ||
| estimate | Confidence Interval +/- | Percentage | |
| United Kingdom | 541 | 31 | 0.9 |
| England | 454 | 31 | 0.9 |
| Wales | 15 | 3 | 0.5 |
| Scotland | 56 | 8 | 1.1 |
| Northern Ireland | 17 | 6 | 1.0 |
Subjects
Census; Foreign nationals; Ethnic groups; Poland; Scotland; Travellers
Date
6 April 2011
Reference
8121; 726 c384-5WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the 2011 census question on ethnic group in England and Wales had five options for ““White”” when the Scottish version had nine options which included Polish, and has a different wording for Gypsy or Irish Traveller which excludes the word ““Irish””; and how overall...
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why the 2011 census question on ethnic group in England and Wales had five options for ““White”” when the Scottish version had nine options which included Polish, and has a different wording for Gypsy or Irish Traveller which excludes the word ““Irish””; and how overall...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Lord Taylor of Holbeach
(Conservative)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
23 March 2011
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated March 2011.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking why the 2011 census question on ethnic group on England and Wales had five options for ““White”” when the Scottish version had nine options which included Polish, and has a different wording for Gypsy and Irish Traveller which excludes the word ““Irish””, and how overall United Kingdom figures will be calculated and displayed given those differences. (HL7713)
In England and Wales the form and content of the ethnicity questions have resulted from extensive consultation with users and other key stakeholders as part of a formal consultation exercise on census topics generally in 2005, and a further consultation focused on ethnicity, identity, language and religion issues from November 2006 to March 2007, including a round of public meetings. This consultation aimed to determine not only requirements for information but also changing public attitudes towards the acceptability of the question among particular ethnic minority communities.
In Scotland, a wide-ranging review of the way that ethnicity was classified was undertaken following the 2001 census, to ensure the development of a classification for use in Scottish surveys that reflected modern circumstances, met users’ information needs and had broad community support. The Scottish Government worked in partnership with the General Register Office for Scotland to conduct the review. The result was an ethnicity classification recommended for use in Scottish surveys and Scotland’s 2011 census.
Some amendments were then made to the classification for use in the census in Scotland, following parliamentary consideration of the draft Census (Scotland) Act, in April 2010. These changes included, in the ““White”” category, the replacement of separate tick boxes for English, Welsh and Northern Irish, with an ““Other British”” tick box. As a result, the ““White”” category in Scotland’s 2011 census ethnic group question has six tick boxes.
While the National Statistician and the Registrar General for Scotland have sought to retain as much comparability in questionnaire design and question wording for the censuses in England and Wales and in Scotland, some small variations must inevitably occur to reflect significant socio-demographic differences and user requirements north and south of the border. The ethnicity question is a good example of where such differences have occurred in each census since it was first introduced in 1991.
The ““White”” categories are broadly equivalent, only differing, in Scotland, in the addition of a ““Polish”” category—where this group form a significantly larger proportion of the ethnic minority population than in England and Wales, justifying a separate tick box—and a separate category for ““Scottish”” to provide consistency with the 2001 question. The omission of ““Irish”” from the title of the new ““Gypsy/Traveller”” group reflected particular sensitivities to the wording of this category in Scotland.
Consultation with users is currently under way to determine the scope and detail of the statistical outputs to be produced including those for a set of harmonised UK tabulations. However, although slightly different forms of the question are being adopted. the variants will, nevertheless, as noted in the White Paper Helping to Shape Tomorrow, allow statistics to be produced which will be broadly comparable both throughout the UK and with statistics from the 2001 census.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups; Scotland; Travellers
Date
23 March 2011
Reference
7713; 726 c173-4WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the ethnic breakdown of the employees of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the ethnic breakdown of the employees of the Northern Ireland Equality Commission.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
16 March 2010
Although the Secretary of State appoints commissioners to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, the sponsorship of the commission is a matter for the devolved Administration.
The noble Lord may wish to write directly to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland or to the relevant sponsor department, the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister.
Subjects
Ethnic groups; Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
Date
16 March 2010
Reference
2542; 718 c167WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Crawley on 13 January (WA 155–6), what criteria were used in the 2011 census ethnic question prioritisation exercise; what was the scoring system used to decide only to add the category of Gypsy or Irish Traveller to White...
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Crawley on 13 January (WA 155–6), what criteria were used in the 2011 census ethnic question prioritisation exercise; what was the scoring system used to decide only to add the category of Gypsy or Irish Traveller to White...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
15 March 2010
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, director-general for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated March 2010.
As the director-general for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your recent Question asking further to the Written Answer by Baroness Crawley on 13 January (WA 155-6), what criteria were used in the 2011 census ethnic question prioritisation exercise; what was the scoring system used to decide only to add the category of Gypsy or Irish Traveller to white ethnic group; what other categories were considered; and why an Irish category was included in 2001 and will be maintained in 2011.(HL2489)
The ethnic group question is already the longest in the census questionnaire. However, there were still demands for additional response categories. For the 2011 census, there was space only for two additional tick-boxes. As explained in answer to the previous Question referred to above, ONS developed a tool to prioritise requests for additional ethnic group tick-boxes. The ethnic group prioritisation exercise scored each ethnic group under consideration against seven criteria, which were grouped into four broader themes. These were:
1 Strength of need for information on that group
1.1 Group is of particular interest for equality monitoring or for policy development (for example, particularly vulnerable to disadvantage)
1.2 Group is of particular interest for service delivery
2 Lack of alternative sources of information
2.1 Write-in answers are not adequate for measuring this group
2.2 Other census information is inadequate as a suitable proxy
3 Clarity and quality of the information collected and acceptability to respondents
3.1 Without this tick-box respondents would be unduly confused or burdened and so the quality of information would be reduced (for example, if a large, well known or highly distinct group was left out and instead respondents from this group ticked a variety of options instead)
3.2 The addition of the tick-box and/or revised terminology is clear and acceptable to respondents (both in wording and in the context of the question, for example providing mutually exclusive categories) and provides the required information to an acceptable level of quality
4 Comparability with 2001 data
4 There will be no adverse impact on comparability
Potential tick-box categories were identified throughout the extensive period of consultation with users. A score of either 2, 1 or 0 was given to each category for each principle in accordance with the level of supporting evidence and analysis, ensuring a level of consistency in relation to each principle. The scoring method equated to:
2 High level of evidence
1 Medium level of evidence
0 Low level or no evidence
This was the system that was used to decide which tick-boxes to add to the ethnic group question, including Gypsy or Irish Traveller. Full details of the prioritisation tool can be found in an information paper on the website: http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/question-and-content-recormnendations-for-2011 /index.html.
Other categories considered are listed in the summary of scores shown at Annexe A in the information paper referred to above and as listed in a previous Answer in December 2009 (WA 230-31).
A particular case was made for the inclusion of an Irish category in the 2001 census by representatives of the Irish community in Britain to provide a more accurate and reliable basis for identifying and dealing with problems of disadvantage, such as health inequality, facing the Irish community. The inclusion of an Irish category was supported by the then Commission for Racial Equality as well as central government departments and Irish community groups.
The 2005 consultation showed a continuing requirement for information on the Irish community and found that statistics users were happy with the ethnic populations measured in the 2001 census. ONS therefore recommended that the "Irish" category, and all other categories from the 2001 census, be retained. Consultation on the 2011 census content identified a strong need for comparison of ethnic group statistics with the 2001 census. Consultation also showed that statistics users were happy with the ethnic populations measured in the 2001 census and the 2001 categories have therefore been retained for the 2011 census.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups
Date
15 March 2010
Reference
2489; 718 c115-8WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of respondents selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census; why Irish is the only white ethnic group specifically named on the proposed 2011 census form other than those of the home countries/British and Gypsies or Irish travellers; and whether they...
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of respondents selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census; why Irish is the only white ethnic group specifically named on the proposed 2011 census form other than those of the home countries/British and Gypsies or Irish travellers; and whether they...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
13 January 2010
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Laird, dated 2010.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (a) what percentage of respondents selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census; (b) why Irish is the only white ethnic group specifically named on the proposed 2011 census form other than those of the home countries/British and Gypsies or Irish travellers; and (c) whether there will be a change to the proposed form to allow ethnic Irish respondents to inscribe "Irish" in "Any other White background" like other European Union nationals. (HL743)
(a) The percentage of all respondents who selected Irish as their ethnic group in the 2001 census in England and Wales was 1.23 per cent.
(b) Consultation on the 2011 census content identified a strong need for comparison of ethnic group statistics with the 2001 census. Consultation also showed that statistics users were happy with the ethnic populations measured in the 2001 census. The Office for National Statistics therefore recommended that the 2001 categories should all be retained in the 2011 census. A particular case had been made for the inclusion of an Irish category in the 2001 census by representatives of the Irish community in Britain, and others, and thus this response category has been retained. However, in a prioritisation exercise carried out to decide if any additional categories should be included in the 2011 census, of the several considered no other category within the "White" ethnic group except "Gypsy or Irish Traveller" scored sufficiently high enough. Where it has been possible the existing categories have been cognitively tested to ensure that the question is still acceptable.
(c) The Census Order, which details the questions to be asked in the census, was debated in the House of Lords on 3 December, and Parliament has now approved the order. However, if for any reason, respondents prefer not to tick the "Irish" box but to write in "Irish" under "Any other ethnic White background", they can do so.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups; Ireland (island)
Date
13 January 2010
Reference
743; 716 c155-6WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Crawley on 16 December 2009 (WA 231), why the term "mixed British" was not considered for use in the "mixed/multiple ethnic groups" category in the ethnic group census question; and what percentage of responses to national identity or...
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Crawley on 16 December 2009 (WA 231), why the term "mixed British" was not considered for use in the "mixed/multiple ethnic groups" category in the ethnic group census question; and what percentage of responses to national identity or...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
13 January 2010
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for Office for National Statistics, to Lord Laird, dated January 2010.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (a) why the term "mixed British" was not considered for use in the mixed/multiple ethnic groups' category in the ethnic group census question; and (b) what percentage of responses to national identity or ethnic group questions where "tick one" or "choose all" options were provided in the 2007 test census were incorrect or inadequate. (HL1060)
(a) Research prior to the 2001 census showed that people who were not from "White" ethnic backgrounds but who were born and have been living in the UK for two or more generations want to acknowledge a British identity along with their ethnic group. Thus the "Black" and "Asian" groups incorporate "British" in their titles. However, it was not considered helpful to introduce the term "British" in the "Mixed/multiple" group as the category "Mixed British" could be interpreted as referring to a mix of White British identities, such as English/Scottish.
(b) The instruction in the 2007 test ethnic group question was to "Choose one section from A to E, then tick the box to show your ethnic group". The percentage of responses that were incorrectly "multi-ticked" was 0.7 per cent. Following the evaluation of the 2007 test, the ethnic group instruction has been changed to "Choose one section from A to E, then tick one box to best describe your ethnic group or background". In the national identity question where the instruction was to "Tick all boxes that apply" the percentage of those who multi-ticked was 9.9 per cent.
Both the national identity and ethnic group questions are relatively subjective and, as such, there is no measure of "incorrect" response to the 2007 test. The proportions of respondents who did not answer these questions in the 2007 test were 1.8 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively.
Further information on the evaluation of the 2007 test is available on the website http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-project/2007-test/index.html.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups
Date
13 January 2010
Reference
1060; 716 c156-7WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what answers they anticipate to the 2011 census to the proposed ethnic group questions "any other Black/African/Caribbean background" and "any other ethnic group"; what "other ethnic group" other than Arabic was considered; and what percentage of respondents to the 2007 census test described themselves as...
To ask Her Majesty's Government what answers they anticipate to the 2011 census to the proposed ethnic group questions "any other Black/African/Caribbean background" and "any other ethnic group"; what "other ethnic group" other than Arabic was considered; and what percentage of respondents to the 2007 census test described themselves as...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
16 December 2009
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, National Statistician, to Lord Laird, dated December 2009.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking (a) what answers are anticipated to the 2011 Census to the proposed ethnic group questions "any other Black/African/Caribbean background" and "any other ethnic group"; (b) what "other ethnic group" other than Arabic was considered; and (c) what percentage of respondents to the 2007 census test described themselves as "Gypsy or Irish traveller". (HL699)
(a) We would expect a range of different written responses for those ticking the "Any other Black/African/Caribbean background" box and the "Any other ethnic group" box in the 2011 Census question on ethnic group.
In 2001, for more than eight in 10 (84 per cent) of those in the "Other Black" group, an ethnic group description was specified in the text box on the census form. The majority (63 per cent) specified a "Black British" ethnic identity. A further 13 per cent were coded to a "Black Mixed" group, indicating mixed ethnicity where both or all ethnicities described are from different black groups.
The main write-in descriptions of the "Other Ethnic group" were Filipino (23 per cent), Japanese (21 per cent), Vietnamese (11 per cent), Arab (11 per cent), Middle Eastern (6 per cent), and North African (4 per cent) although we except most east Asian descriptors to be written in under the "Other Asian" space in 2011 and Arab respondents to use the "Arab" tick-box.
More information about the 2001 "other" groups can be found in our article Who are the "Other" ethnic groups? which can be downloaded from http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articies/nojournal/other_ethnicgroups.pdf.
(b) With space on the census questionnaire limited to only two new tick boxes, and many more demands for tick-boxes than could be accommodated, ONS developed a set of principles by which requirements for new tick box categories for ethnic groups could be assessed and prioritised. These covered:
strength of need for information;
lack of alternative sources of information;
clarity and quality of the information collected and acceptability to respondents; and
comparability with the 2001 Census data.
Particular groups which were identified during the consultation with users and also considered for individual tick boxes were:
African
Cornish
East African Asian
Eastern European
Greek/Greek Cypriot
Iranian
Jewish
Kashmiri
Kurdish
Latin American
Mixed: Black and Asian
Mixed: White and Chinese
Nepalese
Non-European White
Sikh
Sri Lankan
Turkish/Turkish Cypriot
Vietnamese
Detailed information about the prioritisation process and the ethnic groups which were considered together with the scores obtained are available in Annex A of the Information Paper Deciding which tick-boxes to add to the ethnic group question in the 2011 England and Wales Census.
http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/question-and-content-recommendations-for-2011/index.html.
(c) Less than 1 per cent of respondents to the 2007 test which was carried out in approximately 100,000 households from within the five local authority areas of Bath and North East Somerset, Camden, Carmarthenshire, Liverpool and Stoke-on-Trent recorded themselves as "Gypsy or Irish Traveller".
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups; Travellers
Date
16 December 2009
Reference
699; 715 c230-1WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will add the words "Mixed British" to the proposed ethnic group question title "Mixed/multiple ethnic groups" in the 2011 census, in line with the existing "Asian British" and "Black British" ethnic group options.
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will add the words "Mixed British" to the proposed ethnic group question title "Mixed/multiple ethnic groups" in the 2011 census, in line with the existing "Asian British" and "Black British" ethnic group options.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Ulster Unionist Party)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
16 December 2009
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Jil Matheson, National Statistician, to Lord Laird, dated December 2009.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent questions asking (a) whether "tick answer" options such as "choose one" and "tick all" on the 2011 census form will be printed in bold and capital letters to reduce incorrect responses (HL744); (b) whether the words "Mixed British" wilt be added to the proposed ethnic group question title "Mixed/multiple ethnic groups" in the 2011 census, in line with the existing "Asian British" and "Black British" ethnic group options (HL747).
(a) The design of the 2011 Census questionnaire, including fonts, text format and page layout, has been subject to extensive methodological research and testing. In the options you refer to, "one" is in bold type and "tick all that apply" is in a different colour and font. There are no plans, at this late stage, to make any changes to the format of such instructions on the questionnaire.
(b) There are no plans to change the wording of this question. Parliament has now approved the Draft Census (England and Wales) Order 2009, which set out the question topics to be asked in the 2011 Census. The title of the "Mixed/multiple ethnic groups" category in the ethnic group question cannot, therefore, be amended at this stage.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups
Date
16 December 2009
Reference
747; 715 c231-2WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what ethnic groupings will be referred to in the next census.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what ethnic groupings will be referred to in the next census.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Baroness Crawley
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
24 June 2009
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Laird, dated June 2009.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking what ethnic groupings will be referred to in the next Census. (HL4446)
I refer you to my reply to a similar question in the House of Lords Official Report 709, col. 90.
Subsequent to the publication of the 2011 Census White Paper "Helping to shape tomorrow" in December, ONS has further considered concerns raised and has identified a small number of issues for further investigation and evidence gathering. One of these is the ethnic group question, where we are testing the performance of a possible additional category to collect information on people identifying as "Kashmiri".
More information about the further question testing programme is available on the website http://www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/news-and-events/additional- questionnaire-testing-planned/index.html.
The programme of testing is not complete and consequently no decisions have yet been made about any of the possible revisions. The Draft Census Order which sets out the topics and particulars to be collected by each question is currently scheduled to be laid before Parliament around mid October. Parts of the Census Order require the approval of Parliament.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups
Date
24 June 2009
Reference
4446; 711 c282WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the proportions of white and ethnic minority prisoners in England and Wales; and how that compares with the figures in the general population.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the proportions of white and ethnic minority prisoners in England and Wales; and how that compares with the figures in the general population.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Bach
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
21 May 2009
The proportions of white and ethnic minority prisoners in England and Wales; and how that compares with the figures in the general population can be found in this table.
"(1) British nationals of known ethnicity aged 15 and above, as of 30 June 2008.""(2) The percentages are from the Census key tables (KS06) figures released by ONS in February 2003 and are estimates for those aged 10 and over.""Note:These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last number as shown here."
"(2) The percentages are from the Census key tables (KS06) figures released by ONS in February 2003 and are estimates for those aged 10 and over.""Note:These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last number as shown here."
"Note:These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system, and so is not necessarily accurate to the last number as shown here."
| Self-identified ethnicity | |||||
| White | Mixed | Asian or Asian British | Black or Black British | Chinese or Other | |
| Prison Population(l) | 80.1% | 3.2% | 5.3% | 11.1% | 0.3% |
| England and Wales Population t2) | 91.3% | 1.3% | 4.4% | 2.2% | 0.9% |
Subjects
Ethnic groups; Prisoners
Date
21 May 2009
Reference
3743; 710 c365-6WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 10 March (WA 228–29), how they define minority ethnic people.
To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Baroness Andrews on 10 March (WA 228–29), how they define minority ethnic people.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Baroness Andrews
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
24 March 2009
In our discussion paper Tackling Race Inequalities, to which I referred in my reply to the noble Lord Ouseley on 10 March (Official Report, col. WA 229), we use the term "Black, Asian and minority ethnic" to mean people from "visible" ethnic groups such as Black, South Asian and Chinese people and also Gypsies and Travellers. However, the Government are not prescriptive in their wider use of the term "minority ethnic" and use the terms "Black and minority ethnic", "Black, Asian and minority ethnic", "ethnic minority" and "minority ethnic" interchangeably.
Subjects
Ethnic groups; Minority groups
Date
24 March 2009
Reference
2139; 709 c110WA
House
House of Lords
To ask Her Majesty's Government what ethnic groupings they propose to list on the 2011 census form.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what ethnic groupings they propose to list on the 2011 census form.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Patel of Bradford
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
23 March 2009
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, National Statistician, to Lord Laird dated March 2009.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Question asking what ethnic groupings are proposed on the 2011 census form. (HL2087)
The format of the ethnic group question proposed for the 2011 census in England and Wales is as set out in the White Paper Helping to Shape Tomorrow published on 11 December 2008. This is available on the website at www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-project/legislation/index.html.
The proposals have been determined by the requirements of users of census statistics, identified through a programme of extensive consultation which began in 2005. Users are predominantly from central and local government, the health service, education authorities, the academic community, professional organisations, and commercial businesses, but the views of a wide range of other stakeholders were also taken into consideration in designing the question content for the 2011 census. Detailed information about how decisions were made about tick-box categories in the ethnic group question is available on the website at www.ons.gov.uk/census/2011-census/2011-census-questionnaire-content/question-and-content-recommendations-for-2011/index.html.
For information the proposed ethnic group questions to be asked in England and in Wales are attached.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups
Date
23 March 2009
Reference
2087; 709 c90WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 175) concerning the meaning of ““ethnicity””, how they defined the word when included in the Belfast agreement of 1998.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 19 June (WA 175) concerning the meaning of ““ethnicity””, how they defined the word when included in the Belfast agreement of 1998.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Rooker
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
29 September 2008
No definition of ““ethnicity”” was included in the Belfast agreement. The agreement was given effect in UK domestic law primarily by the Northern Ireland Act 1998, in which the term ““racial group”” is used. As explained in my previous Answer of 13 May 2008 (Official Report, col. WA 119), Section 75(5) of that Act defines ““racial group”” as having the same meaning as in the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997.
Notes
Answer received between Tuesday 29 July and Monday 4 August 2008
Subjects
Belfast Agreement; Ethnic groups
Date
29 September 2008
Reference
4665; 703 c305-6WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether respondents to the next census can specify Ulster Scots as their racial background and language.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether respondents to the next census can specify Ulster Scots as their racial background and language.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Davies of Oldham
(Labour)
Answering body
United Kingdom Statistics Authority
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
26 June 2008
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, Director of Macroeconomics and National Accounts, to Lord Laird, dated June 2008.
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent Question asking whether respondents to the next census can specify Ulster Scots as their racial background and language. I am replying in her absence. (HL4115)
The proposed 2011 census ethnic group question in England and Wales includes a ““write-in”” option within each of the main ethnic groupings, which would provide the opportunity for people to describe their ethnic background in whatever way they wish. We are not planning a specific ““tick box”” for Ulster Scots.
The language question is currently being tested. The current form of the question includes a write-in option for respondents to describe their main language in whatever way they wish.
However, it is not possible to confirm what the 2011 census questions and response categories will be until the consultation and testing programme is complete and formal approval of the census is given by Parliament in 2010. A White Paper setting out the UK Statistics Authority proposals, including the wording of any questions about ethnicity, is scheduled to be published in autumn 2008.
Inquiries about the use of Ulster Scots in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where the census is a devolved matter, should be addressed to the respective registrars general.
Subjects
Census; Languages; Ethnic groups; Ulster Scots language
Date
26 June 2008
Reference
4115; 702 c264WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 13 May (WA 119) about use of ““ethnicity”” in the Belfast Agreement of 1998, who is responsible for defining an individual's ethnicity.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Rooker on 13 May (WA 119) about use of ““ethnicity”” in the Belfast Agreement of 1998, who is responsible for defining an individual's ethnicity.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Rooker
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
19 June 2008
Any ruling on the meaning or proper interpretation of the relevant sections of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 or the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 would be for tribunals or courts to make in the event of a complaint or legal action.
Subjects
Belfast Agreement; Ethnic groups
Date
19 June 2008
Reference
3699; 702 c175WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:How they define ““ethnicity”” as used in the Belfast agreement of April 1998 in paragraph 1, point 6 of the section under ““Rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity””.
asked Her Majesty's Government:How they define ““ethnicity”” as used in the Belfast agreement of April 1998 in paragraph 1, point 6 of the section under ““Rights, safeguards and equality of opportunity””.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Rooker
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
13 May 2008
The Belfast (Good Friday) agreement was given effect in UK domestic law primarily by the Northern Ireland Act 1998. Section 75(5) of the Northern Ireland Act defines ““racial group”” as having the same meaning as in the Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997. According to that order, responsibility for which is now a matter for the Northern Ireland Assembly, ““racial group”” means a group of persons defined by reference to colour, race, nationality or ethnic or national origins, and references to a person's racial group refer to any racial group into which he falls.
Subjects
Belfast Agreement; Ethnic groups
Date
13 May 2008
Reference
2945; 701 c119WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the status of the Ulster-Scots community in Northern Ireland is as an historic ethnic community; and whether the community has access to all human rights and equality conventions currently available to both indigenous and non-indigenous ethnic minority groups presently domiciled in the United Kingdom.
asked Her Majesty's Government:Whether the status of the Ulster-Scots community in Northern Ireland is as an historic ethnic community; and whether the community has access to all human rights and equality conventions currently available to both indigenous and non-indigenous ethnic minority groups presently domiciled in the United Kingdom.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Rooker
(Labour)
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
3 March 2008
The term ““historic ethnic minority”” is not defined in statute in the UK; however the Government recognise the importance of Ulster-Scots culture in Northern Ireland, as reflected in commitments made in the 1998 Belfast agreement and the 2006 St Andrews agreement. Cultural matters are now the responsibility of the devolved administration.
The rights in the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated in domestic law in the Human Rights Act 1998, apply to everyone within the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom, irrespective of ethnic identity. Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages applies to Ulster-Scots.
Subjects
Equality; Human rights; Ethnic groups; Northern Ireland; Ulster Scots language
Date
3 March 2008
Reference
2013; 699 c163-4WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, in the 2007 census test questions published by National Statistics, English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and Irish are provided as options for the national identity question when English, Irish and Other British are the options for the ethnic-group question; and why Irish is the only non-United...
asked Her Majesty's Government:Why, in the 2007 census test questions published by National Statistics, English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish and Irish are provided as options for the national identity question when English, Irish and Other British are the options for the ethnic-group question; and why Irish is the only non-United...
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord Davies of Oldham
(Labour)
Answering body
Office for National Statistics
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
30 April 2007
The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl, Director of Macroeconomics and Labour Market, to Lord Laird dated 27 April 2007, replying in the absence of the National Statistician.
The questions for the 2007 test were developed based on consultation with users of census data. The Census Test provides the opportunity to test new and updated questions and the test questions are not necessarily those which will be included in the Census in 2011. It is apparent that demands for information from the Census are greater than are likely to be able to be accommodated and difficult trade-offs will need to be made.
After the 2001 Census there was strong demand for information, especially on Welsh identification—and a national identity question was introduced into government surveys such as the Labour Force Survey from 2001 onwards. National identity information is used to measure identification with different countries of the UK, as well as nations outside the UK. The question being used for the 2007 Census Test specifically lists the national identities of the UK and Ireland in order to meet specific user requirements and also to harmonise with proposals for the question to be asked in the Northern Ireland Census. Other national identities are able to be recorded using a write-in box. We know that the question requires more development before it can be included in the 2011 Census. However we need to know now that it would meet the user requirements before carrying out further question testing.
Another reason for measuring national identity is to separate it from ethnic group, to make it possible to record national identity as ““British”” at the same time as recording ethnic group as, for example, ““Pakistani””. There was criticism of the 2001 ethnic group question because the only category for British was listed under the heading ““White””.
A question on ethnic group was first asked in the 1991 Census for the prime purpose of identifying areas with high levels of ethnic minority groups in order to help provide valuable information for planning and provision of services and monitoring racial disadvantage and social exclusion.
The categories identified in the current ethnic group question being used in the test have been developed from the frame of the 2001 Census question which itself had resulted from an extensive programme of research and development. The question has adopted that mix of geographic origin and colour characteristics that testing had shown to be publicly most acceptable and from which the most useable statistics could be obtained. A separate ““Irish”” response category was included in the 2001 Census ethnic group question as a result of representations made by census users, particularly from Irish community groups, for information to help monitor discrimination and measure health inequalities among the ““Irish”” population. Whilst ethnicity is clearly a dynamic characteristic when considered nationally—and the census must seek to reflect this as much as possible—an equally important criterion is the ability to compare the results from one census to another—and to that end the question must retain a degree of comparability over time.
We have recently conducted further consultation on user needs for information on ethnicity, national identity, and also language and religion from the 2011 Census in England and Wales. This has focused in particular on assessing public acceptability of the descriptions of the ethnic categories. The relevant documents are available on the National Statistics website (see www.statistics.gov.uk/census2001/cn_ 155.asp).
It is likely that the ethnicity classification will be updated for the 2011 Census but it is not possible to confirm what questions and response categories are to be included until the consultation and testing programme is complete and formal approval is given by Parliament in 2010. A White Paper setting out the Government's proposals including the wording of any questions about ethnicity and identity is scheduled to be published in 2008.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups; Nationality
Date
30 April 2007
Reference
3237; 691 c174-5WA
House
House of Lords
asked Her Majesty's Government:In the forthcoming test census in England organised by the Office for National Statistics, why the question about ethnic groups did not include Ulster-Scots; and why it included Northern Irish.
asked Her Majesty's Government:In the forthcoming test census in England organised by the Office for National Statistics, why the question about ethnic groups did not include Ulster-Scots; and why it included Northern Irish.
Asked by
Lord Laird
(Crossbench)
Answered by
Lord McKenzie of Luton
(Labour)
Answering body
Office for National Statistics
Type
Written questions
Status
Answered
Answered on
28 November 2006
The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Colin Mowl to Lord Laird dated 28 November 2006.
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking why the question about ethnic groups in the 2007 census test in England does not include Ulster-Scots; and why it included Northern Irish. I am replying in her absence. [HL211]
The question asking for national identity in England includes a category for ““Northern Irish”” to reflect user requirements identified through extensive consultation. The question also includes categories for ““English””, ““Welsh””, ““Scottish”” and ““Irish””. A similar demand for the recognition of ““Ulster-Scots”” as an identity/ethnicity category in England did not emerge from the consultation and consequently the 2007 test question in England does not include a specific category, though people who wish to identify themselves in this way can do so through the write-in response option.
The prime purposes of the 2007 census test is to assess the effect on response of posting out census forms and including a question on income, and to assess the feasibility of the major innovations in the proposed 2011 census design. The topics and questions for the test were selected on the basis of widespread consultation since the 2001 census involving local authorities, central government departments and other users of census data across the UK, but are not necessarily those that will be included in the census in 2011. The programme of consultation and testing is continuing and in particular a further consultation exercise on the ethnicity, identity, language and religion questions will be launched shortly.
It is important to note that space constraints on the census questionnaire will limit the number of response categories that can be used for each question.
It will not be possible to confirm what questions are to be included in the 2011 census until the consultation and testing programme is complete and formal approval is given by Parliament in 2010.
A White Paper setting out the Government's proposals for the 2011 census in England and Wales is scheduled to be published in autumn 2008.
Subjects
Census; Ethnic groups; Northern Ireland
Date
28 November 2006
Reference
211; 687 c38WA
House
House of Lords