If you tell a lie or give them no information, you justify the marginalization of minorities. Consequently we will not be catered for. I think that you should go and see your councillor and your MP, who have regular surgeries, and complain that the local authority should not be collecting this information in case it gets into the hands of people who could misuse it. Better still try to get more people interested and organise a campaign against this.
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Hmmm, very interesting discussion, as usual Marshlander. I can see why local authorities may be required to ask certain information of people using particular services, in order to prove they are accessed by and accessible to all sections of the community. However, as juk points out, deciding when and where it is appropriate to do this can be challenging, and this is an example of when they have probably got it wrong.
I recall a time when a friend of mine was asked questions about her daughter's ethnicity when access a holiday play scheme, and this personally made her feel a little uncomfortable, as she did not feel that her daughter's background (which was perhaps of a minority, compared to most members of the group) was or should be of any relevance.
A personal example I can think of, in which I think a local authority was heavy handed in its monitoring, was when applying for a job a few years ago. Before I had even been interviewed, I was asked questions about my mental health, weight, how many units of alcohol I drink a week and other personal matters, including sexual orientation. i can see the need for an occupational health assessment for successful candidates, but I didn't even get the job, yet had to reveal these things. I am sure this information was quickly destroyed, but still, I would have rather they never had it. Maybe I am just of a paranoid disposition!
I think councils can sometimes lack sensitivity and subtlety when handling matters relating to diversity, equality etc. Their apparent commitment to these principles is surely a good thing but can sometimes lead to some overzealous/inappropriate promotion of them. I guess until they get it right, one can choose the 'prefer not to say' option, though I feel that maybe misses the point, as that seems to imply something a little different.
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None of their business, methinks.
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George Bush and Darth Cheney's Halliburton Company built a series of concentration camps in the US ...they call them "family relocation centers"....they are not publicized at all but they absolutely exist and just from the fact that zero families were relocated during Katrina and they are secretive about their very existense I question their purpose. I would never officially declare myself gay on ANY government form because history can and does repeat itself.
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One council has taken a step further in gathering information on people, this was taken from Yahoo news today.
A council that spied on a family to check they were living in the right school catchment area, has been criticised for its actions.
Jenny Paton, Tim Joyce and their three daughters were under covert surveillance by Poole Borough Council for three weeks in 2008.
They were tailed round the clock, secretly watched at home and their movements recorded in detailed surveillance forms.
The authority claimed it was acting under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). But a tribunal has found that it was not a proper purpose and nor was it necessary to use the powers.
Corinna Ferguson, legal officer for civil rights group Liberty, said: "Intrusive surveillance is vital to fighting terrorism and serious crime, but weak legal protections and petty abuses of power bring it into disrepute."
The tribunal also found that the surveillance breached the family's right to privacy under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
A Borough of Poole spokesman said: "The council accepts fully the ruling of the Investigatory Powers Tribunal and would like to apologise to Ms Paton and her family for any distress caused as a result of its actions in this case."
A Local Government Association spokesman said: "Councils need these powers to target serious criminals such as fly tippers, rogue traders and benefit fraudsters but they should also make sure these powers are used proportionally and the public have confidence in them."
The Government is reviewing the use of RIPA powers by local authorities as part of the Counter Terror Review announced by the Home Secretary last month.
The coalition agreement stated that the Government would limit local authority use of RIPA to "stopping serious crime" and only when approved by a magistrate.
Do councils need to aquire this personal data?
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If survey was not compulsory and there were no identification methods applied (like name fields), then the survey could serve as an innocent data analysis tool, up to the point where council starts lying about the purpose of the survey.
I mean - they are sort of in politics, they could come up with more creative excuse. I guess they were not bothered...
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I'd tell them to mind their own bees wax!
My local authority are supposed to have somehow placed RDF chips in our wheelie bins. As far as I know, the only information that could be gleaned from this is how often the bin is put out and how much it weighed.
I recycle so much stuff that I need only put my bin out once a month.
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The idea of a 'Smart Bin' could be a good thing, if used correctly. A chip programmed as follows.
1. Audio beep to sound when its over weight, this would help the public not over load the bins.
2. Audio beep to sound when its moved, this could alert the house occupier to any unofficial movement of the bin and alert the public of the bin's movement for safety requirements (Just like a vehicle warning its reversing).
3. ID tagging of the bin, this would help the house occupier to locate their bin if removed or relocated by an unauthoried person.
4, Data, this could help the waste collector to make their operation more efficient. This can be acheived by the following;
4a. Pre scanning of bins, this would save time on manually looking into a bin and spending time judging if the bin needs to be emptied.
4b. Tracking of bins, this would help to locate any bins in the wrong location to be relocated to the right area.
Also better control over waste management by tranfering under used bins to areas with over loaded bins.
5. The waster collector can only use the new 'Smart Bin' system to help to provide a better waste management service to the public and not to use it to collect additional finance in penalties.
Just an idea on how to use the technology.
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If the council asked if you were gay ...?
