Children of mixed parentage: Data collection needs

In a review of Tizard and Phoenix's (1993) study, Sinclair drew attention to the paucity of official statistical information on children of mixed parentage, including the omission of a 'mixed' category in the 1991 Census classification. This article documents the limitations of that classification (which unsatisfactorily accommodated the needs of some 230 000 persons who identified their mixed origins in write-in descriptions), examines the only official sources of information that can be used to estimate the number of children of mixed parentage, including the Samples of Anonymised Records and the Labour Force Survey statistics, and assesses the current policy needs for such information. Finally, the provision for people of 'mixed' ethnic/cultural background in the 2001 Census is discussed