HC Deb 13 February 2004 vol 418 cc114-5W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the size of population in the Chorley constituency was in each of the last five years; and what projections have been made for each of the next five years. [155307]

Ruth Kelly

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Lindsay Hoyle, dated 23 February 2004:

As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the population of the Chorley constituency over the last five years, and the projected population for the next five years. (155307)

The Office for National Statistics does not currently produce mid-year population estimates on parliamentary constituency boundaries. The lowest geography at which mid-year population estimates are currently published is local authority areas. However, Chorley is an unusual case in that the Parliamentary Constituency currently has the same boundaries as the Chorley Borough Council area. Therefore, the population estimates for the two areas will be the same.

The population estimates for Chorley Borough Council area for the latest five years available, are given below. Published population estimates are rounded to the nearest 100 people.

Mid-year population estimates for Chorley local authority, 1998–2002
Population (Thousand)
1998 98.4
1999 98.8
2000 100.0
2001 100.6
2002 101.3

There are currently no official subnational population projections consistent with this series. The last official long-term subnational projections were based on 1996 population data and did not take account of the significant new information produced by the 2001 Census.