§ Mr. PicklesTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to use alternative data sources to the 2001 census to calculate Westminster City Council's(a) grant settlement for 2003–04 and (b) future grant settlements; and if he will make a statement. [92494]
§ Mr. RaynsfordIt is the policy of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister to use consistent data for all authorities in the calculation of formula grant; consequently the same data source will be used for Westminster as for all authorities. For population estimates, this means the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will be using the Registrar General's mid-year population estimates (as published by the Office for National Statistics). For the 2003–04 Local Government Finance Settlement these will be the 2001 estimates that are based on the 2001 census. For future years the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister intends to use the latest available mid-year estimates.