The Royal Wedding bank holiday will be the final chance for residents to fill in their Census forms before risking a fine.

Non-compliance officers start work on May 6th. They may call on residents who have not returned their form to give them one final chance to do so.
 
They conduct interviews under caution and, where necessary, may initiate court proceedings.  
 
Residents must by law fill in a census form and send it back to the Office for National Statistics. The amount of money that local councils are given in Whitehall grants is largely based on population statistics from the census, so the council is keen to encourage Wandsworth residents to fill in their forms.

The census is carried out every 10 years and forms have been distributed to every household in the country. The details collected are used to help central government and local authorities plan the services and resources people need, such as transport, housing, healthcare and education.
 
Personal information is not shared with local or central government, or any other agency, and remains confidential for 100 years. 

The form can be completed online at www.census.gov.uk and help is also available by calling 0300 0201 101.

April 27th, 2011