Hundreds of people face fines of up to $1,000 after Government finally lost patience with those refusing to take part in the Census.Data collectors have been subjected to so much verbal abuse and anger they will not be sent back out and those who missed yesterday’s deadline must “bear the consequences”, according to Director of Statistics Valerie Robinson-James.As the cut-off point loomed yesterday morning with thousands of people still not cooperating, Families Minister Glenn Blakeney told the media: “It’s not a Government problem, it’s a people problem.”The deadline was already pushed back from last August to account for people failing to complete their questionnaires; Government yesterday said it would not be extended any further.An estimated 6,000 people had still not complied by Monday, although that figure was reduced significantly by a late flurry yesterday.Asked what will happen to those who missed yesterday’s deadline, Ms Robinson-James told The Royal Gazette: “If persons have not responded by now they obviously do not plan to. Census workers should not be subjected any longer to the verbal abuse and anger of some of the persons they attempt to interview.“At some point we need to stop otherwise the Census can go on forever. Those persons who have consistently refused to cooperate have positioned themselves, as a result of their choice, to bear the consequences.”The Department of Statistics has previously warned failing to comply with the Census carries a fine of up to $1,000.Census workers have told this newspaper they were racially abused and threatened while attempting to collect information; Government repeatedly warned intimidation was making it difficult to complete the job.The subject was raised when Mr Blakeney hosted a press conference on Financial Assistance yesterday; he said it was unfair to blame Government for the delays.“Our communities are made up of people, the Government is just there to service the people,” said Mr Blakeney.“But these people are not complying with legislation for whatever reason. In some neighbourhoods people feel a level of intimidation and they are not cooperating.“If people comply then we will get it completed. It’s inexplainable why people haven’t completed the Census yet, there have been lots of options.“People should have come to us rather than waiting for us. If they had made one phone call, the questions could have been answered over the phone.”To extend the deadline, Government would be required to push legislation through the House of Assembly.Ms Robinson-James said: “Extending the Census will not be a prudent decision at all. We are already experiencing, to a degree, the law of diminishing returns.“It is important to remember that the Census references May 20, 2010, and people forget information. So we really need to end the enumeration of the Census.“The staff of the Department have done everything possible to make it easy for persons to respond.“The few 50 or more committed Census workers remaining have supported the Department extremely well, conducting telephone interviews and treading the streets in the communities.“We listened to householders who were fearful and didn’t want persons knock on their doors and we opened the telephone interviews to every person to schedule an interview at their convenience.“We centralised a Census interview centre for persons to visit; we opened the Department on a Saturday for interviews, and Monday to Friday for walk-in interviews.“We collaborated with employers and sent Census workers into their offices to ensure that their staff were interviewed. All persons had to do was choose the option convenient for them. We are all stakeholders in this national effort.”Eighty percent of people had complied by the beginning of the week.“My question is why the 20 percent have not provided the information needed? What more is the Government expected to do?” said Ms Robinson-James.United Bermuda Party Senator Michael Dunkley had noted the deadline at the Senate sitting on Wednesday, saying: “With the barrage of radio and TV adverts, it appears there’s still a lot more work to be done.”Problem areas are said to have included Orchard Grove, Friswells Road, Loyal Hill, Chaingate Hill, Fairylands and Spanish Point.