Labour claim Census figures reveal �37m funding shortfall

The huge increase in Tower Hamlets’ population revealed by the Census shows a �37m shortfall in government funding to the borough, according to Labour.

The Census revealed a 26 per cent population increase between 2001 and 2011, the biggest of any local authority in England and Wales.

Labour now claim the population estimates used by central government to calculate funding allocated to the borough are out by more than 13,000 people - around five per cent of the population.

They say that this will lead to a funding shortfall of �12m per year, and �37m in the three year period government grants have been calculated using, leaving services “stretched to their limits.”

Cllr. Carlo Gibbs, Labour’s spokesman on resources, said: “This error means Tower Hamlets Council is being forced to make even greater cuts than it should be.

“�12m a is a massive amount of money and would have helped to provide many of the vital services currently being cut or stretched to their limits. The Government can’t go on ignoring 13,000 residents and should reassess our funding formula immediately.”