UK Household Longitudinal Study

[Skybird]

The UK plans to abandon the metjhod of census due to too many errors and short longevity of data. Instead, they want to closely monitor a representative sample of 40.000 households/100.000 individuals over a period of several years, no: decades, with regular (at least yearly) questioning on even private issues, and taking genetic samples.

And this in a country that has shown us very seriuous security leaks with sensitive data last year. The selected sample of population will need to be naked and transparent to the authorities.

This points the way into a nightmare, no matter what the arguments in favour of it are. It is about total control by the state, total transparency of people's private sphere, and where they say they need this data to form better policies they reveal an intention to make the state the super-nanny that nobody can live without that Americans so often make mockery of, regarding Europe.

http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/ukhls/
http://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/ukhls/consult1/

Next step that is to be expected is that participiation in this project is being made obligatory and legal ways to object being made unavailable - only a question of time. you can take me by my word in some years when they start with it.

As long as common sense does not take over and the thing gets buried.

[mrbeast]

I can't see anything about this study replacing the census anywhere in the links and it is not a government study, its to be carried out by the University of Essex among other educational institutions.

It does appear to recieve British government funding via another body but then thats not neccesarily unusual. Nowhere does it talk of anyone being forced to comply with it.

Think you might be being a little alarmist.

[Skybird]

No, it is being done by a university - but by order of the government (functioning as "customer") which plans to replace the census by it to make "better policies".

http://timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3107949.ece
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,2233275,00.html


THE government is considering scrapping the national census after more than 200 years because the population is now so mobile it cannot be counted accurately.
The Treasury will soon begin talks over replacing the survey, which requires answers from all of Britain’s 24m households.
Pressure for a replacement after a final census in 2011 comes in the wake of serious failings in the 2001 census. The information is used as the basis for government funding of local authorities, so mistakes in counting a population can have serious consequences for public services.
A spokesman for the Office for National Statistics, which administers the census, said a formal review would begin early next year.
“We need to look again at the options available for the period beyond 2011,” he said. “Some countries are moving to alternative models and some have not held a traditional census for decades. We will be considering what others are doing as part of this review.”
Whitehall critics of the census maintain that because people move house and region so frequently, the information collected is out of date almost as soon as it has been analysed.
(...)
Critics are also concerned about possible mass noncompliance because of security fears sparked by the repeated loss of important personal data by government departments and the intrusive nature of questions.

I muist correct myself in one detail, though, the Guardian says so far it is planned to try voluntary participating only. statistically, that means a deformation of representativity, though - the sample would be needed to be choosen randomly and being representative, else it's findings are questionable. - so while they say it is voluntary now, it can become obilgatory at a later stage of planning nevertheless.

[mrbeast]

Much better links:up:

In principle I wouldn't be totally against a study like this so long as it was on a totally voluntary basis and.......DNA samples were only taken on a similar voluntary basis.

I'm very uneasy about the taking of DNA samples, particularly by the police. IIRC there was a proposal that the police should be able to take a sample, against your will, even if they simply stopped you in the street.

Think there could be a grave over reliance on DNA evidence as being some sort of 'silver bullet' that solves all crimes. Its also tempting for the police to simply trawl through DNA records rather than investigating a crime fully.

So overall I would say this is something to keep an eye on.

[Skybird]

Plus a database of genetic samples is a tempting target for data theft, and identity verification (by health insurrances, employers, for example). the UK record in keeping data secret has suffered last year. :lol: but not only big coups, but cinstant minor level of data abuse is a concern, plus the appetite of lawmakers may become so intense that first they collect the data on basis of one set of laws, and when the database is ther and is filled, the legal basis gets chnaged and criterions for using it become softend up.