The next UK Census will be in 2011. Help stop it being run by an arms
company with close links to the United States government.
The process of running the 2011 Census will be contracted out by the
Office of National Statistics to a private company.
One of the two contractors in the final round of selection is the arms
company Lockheed Martin, 80% of whose business is with the US Department
of Defense and other Federal Government agencies.
This might concern you because:
* The Census rules mean that every household will be legally
obliged to provide a wide range of personal information that will be
handled by the chosen contractor.
* Lockheed Martin is goriegn organisation outside the jurisdiction
of UK law - and therfore unaccountable for its actions to British
citizens.
* They also focus on intelligence and surveillance work and boast
of their ability to provide ‘integrated threat information’ that
combines information from many different sources.
* New questions in the 2011 Census will include information about
income and place of birth, as well as existing questions about languages
spoken in the household and many other personal details.
Therefore it is up to you to stop Lockheed Martin from being
given the contract.
The campaign is sup****ted by the Green Party, politicians from Plaid
Cymru, Labour and the Scottish National Party, and others concerned
about personal privacy.
The Census itself is designed for national interest and the information
should remain soveriegn. Aggregated information
collected is im****tant in allocating resources to local authorities and
public services.
But personal privacy is im****tant too, the concerned that
Lockheed Martin's involvement could undermine public confidence in the
process and lead to inaccurate data being collected.
What can I do?
Before the final decisions on the contract are made
* Contact your MP and ask them to raise the issue in Parliament.
* Contact your local Councillor and ask them to highlight their
concerns about the allocation of local authority resources.
Make other people aware.
