The Island’s census schedule is to be set to the discretion of the Bermuda Government, with the caveat that one must be held at least every ten years.

The Statistics Amendment Act 2015 received support from both sides at yesterday’s Senate, with Diallo Rabain, the Opposition Senate Leader, requesting clarification on where the Government planned to put the $1.7 million saved by not holding a census this year.

Censuses were set at a five-year schedule. Bermuda’s last census was in 2010, although the data was not compiled until the following year.

Independent senator James Jardine said more should be done to keep track of changes in Bermuda and called on the Government to “look seriously at trying to generate statistics on GDP, and unemployment and employment at least on a quarterly basis”.

Government senator Michael Fahy called the need for cost savings “obvious” and told the Senate that there was no particular pressing issue for the savings to go towards.

The ten-year specification was included in the Act after a successful Opposition amendment in Parliament.