Head count error costs region dearly

May 23 2008 by William Green, The Journal

NORTH East councils are losing out on millions of pounds in public funding because of “inadequate” official statistics on the region’s population, it was claimed yesterday.

The warning from the Association of North East Councils (ANEC) came as MPs launched a blistering attack on the “shambles” of the system supposed to accurately work out the population and its future size.

Population statistics are used to allocate vast sums of public money to town halls and the health service as well as develop economic and social policies.

But MPs warned the Government has no way of knowing accurately the population size from one year to the next – with a key survey used to calculate international migration in and out of the UK “not fit for purpose”.

And local authorities are also losing out because of major shortcomings in the collection and analysis of information, according to a new report by the influential Commons Treasury committee.

A national census every 10 years is a key component in working out the population, with official mid-year estimates used to calculate changes in between.

But these mid-year estimates do “not fully meet the needs” of local authorities by failing to consider short-term migrants, according to MPs.

The report also concludes that current methods of estimating internal migration within the UK are unsatisfactory and are leading to decisions on the allocation of funding to local authorities being based on “inadequate” information.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) could only provide a 2006 figure of 2.6m for the region’s population – while Tyne and Wear councils warn new calculations designed to account for recent mass immigration into the UK have disadvantaged the North East.

They have recommended a more regular headcount as a way forward, potentially alongside the electoral register. “We have calculated this discrepancy has led to the region’s councils missing out on millions of pounds of funding over the period 2008-11,” added a spokesman.

Conservative MP Michael Fallon, who chaired the inquiry, said: “It is a shambles. What we uncovered, we were just staggered by the inadequacy of the data.” His committee now wants the Statistics Authority – which oversees the ONS – to provide more accurate local population statistics as an “immediate priority”.

The UK statistics authority admitted “urgent attention” was needed to improve data.

Concern over US access to data

DETAILS about the personal lives of Britons could end up in hands of US authorities, MPs warned yesterday.

The Commons Treasury committee said data gathered through the 2011 UK census could be subject to US legislation on information gathering introduced after the September 11 attacks.

American contractor Lockheed Martin is one of two companies shortlisted to work on the census in 2011. It has been subject to protests over concerns that once census data enters the US, it may be subject to "forcible disclosure" under the Patriot Act.

Jill Matheson from the Office for National Statistics said legal advice was being taken to ensure data was kept secure and confidential for 100 years.

Treasury Minister Angela Eagle insisted the contract would "at no stage" allow removal from the UK of any completed paper questionnaire or electronic data or images that could identify an individual.