Critics argue that the modern census and other forms of data collection are coercive and intrusive. The census asks you to reveal your ethnicity, religion and other matters many consider to be too intimate to disclose. Supporters, however, point to the need to gather information about populations to serve them better, arguing that citizens need to periodically submit information about themselves in the interest of government planning. Is it in all our interests to be counted in or should we be protesting against a growing surveillance state?

Speakers are Jil Matheson (Office for National Statistics) and Phil Booth (NO2ID). The event will be Chaired by Tom Crook (Oxford Brookes University).