Every ten years the Office for National Statistics (ONS) carries out a census to find out more about the people who live in England and Wales, and about the make-up of local neighbourhoods. The last census took place on Sunday 27th March 2011, when ONS sent out questionnaires for around 25 million households to complete.

The census asked about work, health, national identity, citizenship, ethnic background, education, second homes, language, religion, marital status and so on. These statistics were then used to build a picture of today's society.

Like all local authorities in England and Wales, Ipswich Borough Council relies on census population statistics to get the government funding we need for public services. How much we get is directly related to how many and what kind of people the census says live in our area. So even if the census were to end up just a few households short, it could make a very real difference to people's lives. The census needs to include everyone, everywhere.

The first release of census data is available on the ONS website.