I agree with Graham Chainey (Opinion, April 20) about the intrusiveness of the Census.

Much of the required statistical data, such as how many cars we own and how many of us are chronically sick, could easily be acquired, in this electronic age, elsewhere.

That the Government knows one million people failed to complete the Census last time proves it has more reliable sources of information.

What evidence is there the statistics gathered last time contributed towards the forward planning supposedly the reason for the Census?

On all sides - education, transport, the health service and so on - one sees an almost universal lack of planning. In any case, the best basis for planning is common sense, not statistics, which are notoriously fickle indicators.

In reality, the Census is an exercise in reminding us who is in control and in gathering detailed information about us for future use.

I suggest that after 200 years of the authorities poking their noses into our private affairs, it is time to scrap the Census. It is unnecessary, intrusive and increasingly unreliable. The £255 million it now costs could be more usefully spent.

-Nigel Breakspear, Brunswick Square, Hove