It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a decade since the last Census survey was carried out across England and Wales, and households in Croydon will soon be contacted about the next Census taking place on 21 March 2021.
We know the 2011 Census found that Croydon with its wonderfully diverse population, has a wide variety of faith groups and worship styles and hope the 2021 Census will give us an accurate and updated picture of what’s changed and where we now stand in comparison to other boroughs and regions.
This will be the first Census to be predominantly run online, and the information gathered will give a better understanding of community needs and help inform how services like health centres, schools and transport are planned and funded. A good example of this is where the 2011 Census data on the Muslim population was used by the Muslim Spiritual Care Provision to secure funding for employment of Imams paid for by the Department of Health’s central funding of chaplaincy services.
To help Croydon residents to understand the benefits of the census and overcome any barriers to taking part, we are reaching out to as many places of worship, community groups and organisations as possible. As Engagement Managers we are here to support and ready to meet with groups online or face to face (depending on restrictions) and can provide resources, articles and answer questions that you or others may have.
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be making direct contact with places of worship across the borough, but we’d be happy to hear from anyone who would like to know more. For further information visit www.census.gov.uk or contact us directly.
Dianne Jones, North Croydon
Email: dianne.jones02@field.census.gov.uk
Tel: 07452 945875
Lisa Atik, South Croydon
Email: lisa.atik99@field.census.gov.uk
Tel: 07452 934577