Census results will have impact on council funding

The Census results published this week - which reveal the Royal Borough's population has increased at a greater rate than the national average since the last Census in 2001 - will be used to decide the funding the Royal Borough will receive from government over the next 10 years.

The population and household estimates will also help the Royal Borough, local businesses and community organisations identify needs and plan future service provision.

Key facts collected on and around 27 March last year show that on Census night:
• the population in the Royal Borough was 144,600 permanent residents and 500 short-stay residents (intending to stay for less than 12 months). This is the largest the population has ever been
• there were 71,300 men and 73,200 women in the borough
• the population has grown by an extra 11,000 people in the 10 years since the last census, an increase of 8.2%. This is higher than the national average increase of 7.1%, which is the largest growth in the population in England and Wales in any 10-year period since census taking began in 1801
• one in six people in the population was 65 and over and nearly one in four was 19 or under, statistics which are both higher than the national average. There were 1,200 residents aged 90 and over in 2011 compared with 860 in 2001
• There were 58,300 households in the borough, an increase of around 4,000 since 2001. The average household size was 2.4 people per household in 2011, which is also the average for England and Wales.

Cllr Christine Bateson, cabinet member for planning and partnerships, said: "The information provided by the Census offers a fascinating insight into our society and the way it is changing but there is so much more to it than that.

"These statistics are vital as they determine the amount of government funding the Royal Borough will receive for essential services such as education, transport, schools and housing.

"In addition to underpinning the planning of public services, Census statistics are also used extensively by the private sector. Information on such things as the skill and age profile of the workforce and where people live can help businesses decide where to place new offices, factories and other places of work and what training they need to provide for their employees."

This week's was the first of four releases of Census information. The second set of data will become available by the Office for National Statistics some time between November this year and spring 2013.

Further information is available at www.rbwm.gov.uk/web/pp_2011_census.htm and www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/census/2011/index.html

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