As you know, the Domesday Book is the record of the “Great Survey” ordered by William the Conqueror in 1086. You may not know, however, that we are rapidly approaching a “Domesday for the Digitally Disconnected”.
The next UK census in 2021 will be ditching the parchment and going “online first”. That’s right, for the most part, all the research will be carried out digitally.
It stands to reason and logic, really… a bit like Making Tax Digital. We are bowing, at times reluctantly, to the inexorable march of technology.
Heavy-handed approach to MTD
From what I can work out, HMRC seems to have taken a, shall we say, slightly heavy-handed approach to the MTD task in hand.
The Office of National Statistics, however, seems to be taking an altogether more enlightened and gentle approach to reaching its digital census goal.
The ONS has started work on helping that small, but important sector of the population known as, “We Don’t Do Digital”.
It is building up a network of experts and organisations to support the refuseniks; the sort of individual who keeps paper receipts in a shoebox, say.
Online transactions and everyday life
The ONS says: “For the majority of people, this won’t be a problem. It will be just another of many online transactions they do as part of everyday life.
“Others, though, won’t find it so simple. These are the people who, for various reasons, are being left behind by the digital revolution. They’re not opposed to being online; they just don’t have the skills, confidence, technology, or opportunity to do so.”
We want to meet you
“Can you help us to get as many of the “digitally disconnected” group as possible doing their census online?
Whether you’re a company or a charity, a nationwide operation with thousands of branches, or a local specialist with a handful of outlets, we want to meet you,” the ONS adds.
“Our task is to provide a network of face-to-face online support for the census across England and Wales. We recognise that to do this we may need to consider working with a wide variety of organisations committed to helping those struggling to go digital.”
You can find out more about the 2021 Census Assisted Digital scheme here. There will be QA sessions in London next week and next month.
See you tomorrow.
