Criticism has also been levelled against a planned move in Jersey

The decision was taken despite an amendment by Deputy John Gollop asking for a rethink on the proposal which affects every islander.

So-called "survey fatigue" is cited as one of the reasons behind plans to increase the time between each census in Guernsey from five years to 10.

It is claimed the changes could also save the government more than �400,000.

In Jersey, the Policy and Resources Committee wants to move to 10 years in order to save about �500,000, but the Jersey Rights Association is against the proposal saying a census is necessary and important.

In the UK, a census is taken every 10 years and Malta and Gibraltar have recently moved from five years to a 10-yearly census.