What's sex got to do with it?

A council survey is asking Keynsham residents for details of their sexual orientation.

But residents are asking “what does sex has to do” with the questionnaire being carried out on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council.

It asks people about their satisfaction on a wide range of topics including public services, housing services, its recycling centres and library services.

But it also asks householders if they are heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual or prefer not to say.

The council says it will use all the findings from the survey carried out by Snap Surveys of Thornbury, to influence decisions and budgets across a wide range of public services, both in the council and other agencies.

One middle-aged Keynsham resident who preferred not to be named, said: I don’t know what sex has to do with improving any of these services, why should they even be asking this question?

“There are also sections on people’s ethnic group and their religion but again I ask what difference does it make and why are they trying to put everyone into little boxes?”

Snap Surveys says the data will be held securely and no information which may identify people as individuals will be used in any published report or passed on to any third party other than in a completely anonymous format.

I asked Snap Surveys to comment on the criticism to the survey but it has not replied to my request.