The UK census questionnaire.. legaly confusing??

I've got a bit of a dilemma with the filling out of the UK census form.

To give you an idea as to what i mean, I need to give you, what I see as, the conflicting words or wording.

Firstly, on the front page it says;

Everyone should be included in the census - all people, households and overnight visitors. It is used to help plan and fund services for your community - services like transport, education and health. Taking part in the census is very important and it's also compulsory. You could face a fine if you don't participate or if you supply false information.

onlinemb1.census.gov.uk...

I have highlighted the one sentence that says it is compulsory.. by law...

But, on the second page, at the bottom, it says;

Follow the ->GO TO instructions and leave any questions or pages you do not need to answer completely blank.

again the bold is the important bit.

Now, if I apply for a job, for example, and am given an ethnicity check list I do not need to fill this info in by law.. I have the right to withhold that data...the same as i do not need, by law, to fill in my date of birth.. this particular set of laws is put in place to avoid discrimination and to also protect my privacy and rights.

The problem I'm having is that the questionnaire says i must "take part in the census and it's also compulsory"...

So, theoretically, I could just put in my name and address, sign and date the front and send it off... Therefore, i have taken part, I have filled in a bit of it on my own free will and have submitted everything I feel i NEED to..

It does not say I NEED to or MUST complete any or all of the questions.. It just says it is cumpolsury that I take part in it..

Your opinions and/or thoughts please..

Yours rather confused,
EA

Haha I was just searching for this the other day....hurry up and finish

reply to post by RANDOMguess


lol...sorry about that.. for some unknown reason i posted the empty thread with just the title by pressing enter...
no idea how it happened.. but luckily it's all sorted now

I returned mine to sender and wrote refusal of contract on it. Just another load of bollocks, like this govt. We are all in it togeather, says the millionairs who make up the govt. They would be in it all togeather, if I could get my hands on them.

Some good advice on completing the U.K Census.

reply to post by illuminnaughty


I read something about this 'refusal of contract' the other week here on ATS..

Perhaps you'd like to enlighten us further or paste some links for us so we can understand these words better..

Thanks

reply to post by Cobaltic1978


Brilliant little video..

Loved watching it ...

Just going off to add it to favourites and flag it as liked

Are you talking about the form that came through the post which I accidently threw coffee over.

The questions you do not need to answer have optional next to them - which isn't many, just received my form yesterday and they have to be kidding what they are asking!!!

reply to post by Extralien


Yes, I came across it yesterday.

I am not completing the Census due to Lockheed Martin's involvement. Not that I am worried about them passing info on to TPTB, they already have enough on me from posting on here.

It's more of a moral thing. I am not supporting a corporation that produces weapons of mass destruction. Peace.

reply to post by Cobaltic1978



pity he might get a £1000 fine though (if the government is organised enough which it isn't )

PS what is the chosen religion this time round - was Jedi last time....

reply to post by blackcat99


It may say 'optional' to some questions.. but it still does not say that any of the other questions 'must' or 'need' to be answered.

One of the questions asks about what is (was) your full and specific job title..

I don't have one.. I've had to change my 'job' so many times that i'm not fully skilled or qualified in anything..yet I'm more than capable of accomplishing many skills and jobs..

It just gets wierder....

reply to post by blackcat99


It asks, 'how would you describe your national identity?'

I want to put human

As for religion? I don't recognise any religion... they're all as good/bad as each other..

reply to post by Extralien


How about Musistianewist as a chosen religion?

A mixture of four religions, but meaningless!!

reply to post by blackcat99


The government is quick on the ball in regards to collecting fines. Unfortunately that's one of the only 'good' things they're capable of doing.
I still haven't received mine, I hope the Royal Mail can conveniently lose it.

reply to post by LunaStarr


Yeah, and the reason why they want to collect the fines from those who don't comply is so that they can pay the bill to lockheed martin..

This reminds me of the US census thread on ATS a while back.

I believe in the US you are required to send it back, unless you want a visit from a Census worker, and all that HAD to be answered was the number of people living there.
I sure didn't fill out everything, esp not my phone number....but did more than list the number living in my home.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe

Thanks for that..
There is no clear guideline as to what you have to fill out and what you don't.

Going by my 'assumption' as stated in my opening post, there seems to be no need to answer any of it as long as you 'take part'...whatever 'taking part' means...

I don't want to sound overly dramatic, but I've been staring at the unopened census pack and wondering what to do. I did intend to research today whether or not the statement on the front saying that my census response was required by law, and wondered if returning it unopened with "NO THANKS" written on the enveloped would fulfill my legal obligation to respond.

However, and here's the dramatic part, you could end up shooting yourself in the foot. The reason being, you demonstrate your awareness and your knowledge to the census counters, you return your census essentially marked "Not A Sheep", and that would put you into a different pile, and by doing so, you attract attention to yourself.