IN the next couple of weeks, a weighty purple envelope containing a daunting looking 32-page questionnaire will land on your doormat.

The census, a snapshot of the UK’s population held once every ten years, will take place on March 27 at a cost of an estimated £500million.

The Office for National Statistics says it is in everyone’s interest to fill in the form as it will bring about £600 of Government funding per person.

Colin Lippitt, the census area manager, said if the powers that be did not know how many people lived in Colchester, or even areas of the town, such as High Woods, they could not know how many schools, hospitals or roads were needed to serve them.

He added: “As a nation, we’ve grown and changed quite considerably over the last ten years.

“It’s about understanding that aspect of our society now so we address it and give better provision from the Government.

“Looking Essex-wide, there’s been a 25 per cent increase in over 85s in the last 10 years, so there’s a lack of care homes.

“Ten years ago people failed to put their children down on the forms. Ten years later, there are not enough schools.”

A population census has been carried out every ten years since 1801, except in 1941 because of the Second World War.

This year it contains 56 questions – 14 about the household and home, and up to 42 for each member of the household, covering work, education, national identity, ethnicity, second homes, language, health, religion and marital status.

Mr Lippitt insisted each family member would need only ten minutes to fill in the form.

He said: “We try to allay fears by saying we’ve been doing this for over 200 years and we haven’t lost a piece of data yet.

“We do understand people’s sensitivity, but we try to gently persuade them it’s in their interests to fill in the form.”

Cathryn-Ann Spalding, Colchester Council’s community research officer, said the last census in 2001 had helped Colchester secure the adiZone outdoor gym for Monkwick last year.

She added: “If a community group or a church wants to draw upon funding, they need to fill out a bid which asks what is the basic population and age make-up.

“Indices of Deprivation data was used to support the bid for the adiZone.

“They were able to identify the type of people living in the area and prove there was a need for the outdoor gym there, and that’s how they secured the funding.

“There was a Learning & Skills Council partnership set up in Colchester and it was able to identify areas where adult qualifications were low.

“It set up special classes to help these individuals achieve qualifications. It was a successful project and one we wouldn’t have been able to go ahead with without that information.”

Most forms will arrive by post ahead of March 27. Some will be hand delivered and it can also be filled in online at census.gov.uk The form will have a helpline number, while there will also be drop-in sessions around Colchester over the next few weeks.

Members of 16 Air Assault Brigade serving in Afghanistan will fill the form in on their return. The data is collected in a way so that students taking courses at university but living elsewhere are not counted twice.