§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment his Department has made of the implications for future local government funding calculations of the recent Statistics Commission report on the accuracy of the 2001 census for the Westminster City Council area. [136993]
§ Mr. RaynsfordFor each year's Revenue Support Grant calculations, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister need to use the most up to date data that are available on a consistent basis for all local authorities. For population, this is the mid-year population estimates provided by the Office for National Statistics. If subsequent revisions are made to population estimates following the recommendations made in the Statistics Commission report or on the basis of other studies, such as the Westminster address matching exercise, then the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister will consider whether to make an amending report. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister have already announced that an amending report will be made for the 2003–04 settlement in respect of revisions made to population estimates by the Office for National Statistics.