Selected Case Studies

Slough Borough Council found that its population had grown significantly but that this was not reflected in official statistics or, as a consequence, its funding settlement from central government.

The Government’s population statistics are based on mid year adjustments between decennial census. The Office of National Statistics measure births, deaths and migration using GP registration to measure increases in movement to and from local population. The council suspected that one of the reasons the increase in its population had not been recorded by central government was that a high proportion of Slough’s migrant population had not registered with a GP.

Populus conducted research among Slough’s Polish, Indian, Pakistani and Somali populations and found that – for different reasons in each group – these communities were indeed less likely to register with a doctor.

This research added substantial evidential weight to Slough’s case, enabling it to construct a robust case for central government funding that reflects the true size of its population.

Populus’s research was published by the Council and presented at a major conference attended by 30 other local authorities, the Office for National Statistics, Department for Communities and Local Government, MPs, national commentators and chaired by Professor David Rhind, Chairman of the Statistics Commission.