Today the census is one of the key means by which government can plan our public services. Decisions on everything from schools and hospitals to roads, houses and libraries are helped by knowing accurately how many people there are, where they live and what they need. There is no point in building schools where the populations is ageing or rest-homes in areas with young families. It is estimated that £45 billion of annual public expenditure uses census information.
Because the census covers the whole country, at the same time, and asks everyone the same questions it provides a unique opportunity to compare results of different types of people or different places. These are some of the areas where the census results are used:
Population: Local authority and health authority grants are determined in part by how many people live in each area.
Health: Information on age, general health and illness help plan health and social services and distribute funds.
Housing: Information from the census shows areas where housing is inadequate, either through overcrowding or lack of amenities, and where new housing needs to be built to meet rising population.
Employment: From the census we know how many people work in different occupations and where. This helps government and business understand the changing nature of our economy, what skills will be required and where best to direct investment.
Transport: By knowing how may people own cars and patterns of commuting government is able to plan the capacity and location of roads, railways and other public transport systems.
Ethnicity: Data on ethnic groups helps measure the success of equal opportunities policies and identify areas of deprivation and need.
For more information on this topic see the Overview Unit on Census
Outputs.