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Mobile phone data could replace census questionnaires in the UK
Every 10 years since 1801, England and Wales have conducted a census, which gives the government and its associated authorities an up-to-date picture of the population. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) -- joined by independent Scottish and Northern Irish agencies -- typically ask householders for their age, address, occupation, nationality, marital status, religion and other personal information. For the most part, the ONS has tallied that information via paper questionnaires that have been sent in the post. However, as part of a new trial, the agency has begun using mobile phone data to track where people live and work.
Dumb phone prices are no longer used to measure inflation
The UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) measures inflation by looking at price increases among products the majority of consumers are spending their hard-earned on. And every year, the lists of stuff the ONS cares about keeping track of, called the "baskets of goods and services," are revised to reflect changes in our spending habits. Over the past few years, music and video streaming services, set-top boxes, digital game downloads and PS Plus and Xbox subscriptions have all been added to reflect their broad popularity, while sat navs and rewritable CDs/DVDs have been bumped due to their dwindling relevance. This year there's only one notable change, with dumb phones being dropped from the list of influential tech products.
