About
About this consultation
The ONS is keen to establish a long term, small area geography policy which will be used for Census 2011 and Neighbourhood Statistics. The aim is to support the production of coherent and useful data that can be used with confidence by all organisations.
To this end, We have developed a policy proposal. This consultation is part of the research we are conducting to explore its efficacy and value. We hope that a number of people will contribute so that we can gather a range of perspectives and develop alternatives where necessary. Many will have views on the policy areas under review, some of these will be strong. It is important that you find ways of clarifying your thoughts and working with us.
We are proposing a policy which develops stability with the existing Output Area – Super Output Area geographical hierarchy. Where there has been significant population gain or loss, areas will be subject to simple maintenance change at the time of the Census.
The consultation paper is available online. This describes all policy proposals, the background to them, and a number of attendant issues. Please take the time to get involved by responding to the survey and joining in the debate around the blog posts.
Read about central government’s ‘consultation criteria’.
About this blog
This blog will allow members of our user community to engage with us as we develop our small area geography policy. It will provide a forum where people with a range of views can come together and discuss their perspectives with each other and with us.
The blog will concentrate on the main points of the policy proposal, but it will also react to what we’ve read, heard or seen as the consultation moves forward. You can use this site as a noticeboard, drawing our attention to particular issues: we will respond to your comments as often as possible.
The traditional means of contact for consultations remain open. Full details of all the communication channels available to you are given in the consultation paper itself. In the first instance, questions are best directed to the ONS helpline, info@statistics.gov.uk.