Census 2011: Help tomorrow take shape in Rochester.

All residential households in Rochester and Medway will shortly receive the 2011 Census.

This is the census that takes place every ten years and provides information about the population, enabling local and central government, health authorities and other organisations to identify the need for housing, education, health and transport. If I recall correctly, it also asks what religion you are – and over 100,000 people stated ‘Jedi’ last time, thinking it would become official!

Water companies, fire brigades, the police and supermarkets also use the statistics to plan for the future demands. It plays a major part in identifying needs for local services and therefore the allocation of funding, so it is very important that the data is as accurate as possible.

The Census can be filled in online for the first time and each one will have an individual internet code on the front. There are also language guidance booklet, large print format, Text Relay and field staff on hand, along with online help and telephone call centres.

More information about the census can be found at www.census.gov.uk - and more information regarding the official status of the Jedi in Britain was found on Wikipedia!

390,127 people in England and Wales stated it as their religion in 2001, making it the fourth largest reported religion in the country. It was assigned its own code – 896 – for census processing, although this didn't make it official, just recognised that it was a common answer.

It was felt, though, that even if there was an element of poking fun, more people filled in the survey than would otherwise have done so, thereby improving the quality of the result. The Office of National Statistics published a press release entitled: ‘390,000 Jedi there are’!

With 0.7% (1,851) of the local population stating they are Jedi, Medway came in 149th in the ranking - are you one of them? Is there a Jedi Church in Medway? Please let us know!