§ Gillian MerronTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) by what date he requires the population data for Lincoln, in order to calculate the standard spending assessment for the coming three financial years; and if he will make a statement; [128366]
(2) what progress the Office for National Statistics has made in assessing the impact of internal migration on the population in Lincoln, with special reference to the requirements of the standard spending assessment for the coming three years. [128338]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe method of revenue grant distribution in future years depends on the outcome of the review of revenue grant distribution now taking place. A Green Paper will be published later this summer setting out options for revenue grant distribution. This follows open and lengthy discussions between representatives of local and central government.
Grants for 2001–02 will be based on the existing standard spending assessment (SSA) system. We announced in the White Paper "Modern Local Government—In Touch With The People", that during the review we intended to keep up to date the data on which grants are based. This would mean that grants for 2001–02 would use the Registrar General's estimates of population at 30 June 1999. These data should be available by 3 October 2000, the deadline for most data for use in the 2000–01 SSA calculations.
The Registrar General continually looks for ways of improving his population estimates. I understand that his estimates for 30 June 1999, due to be published in August, will incorporate improvements to the internal migration component of the estimates that have been discussed with local government and other experts. The estimates will include new migration estimates for the previous year based on the new data source. This increases the population estimate for Lincoln for mid-1998 by over 200. I am aware that this matter and others have been the subject of recent correspondence between the council and the Office for National Statistics. The council had been 113W concerned that the improvements would not be made until information from the 2001 census was available. The Registrar General does not intend to wait until then.