HARROW may have missed out on £14 million in Government funding over a decade due to residents not taking part in the census, the council believes.

The authority gets around £500 in Government funding for every resident but officers believe more than 2,000 people may have been missed from official records.

When cash given to other public bodies, including health trusts, is taken into account, estimates suggest Harrow may have lost around £14m since the last census in 2001.

The council is urging everyone in the borough to take part in the current census when it launches on March 27.

Councillor Keith Ferry, responsible for planning and economic development, said: “Our message is simple – please fill it in or we could lose out on funding to pay for the services you need.

“At a time of major cuts in public sector funding, when every penny counts, it is especially important to have an accurate snapshot of Harrow's population and its needs.”

The census is compulsory and anyone who does not take part could be fined £1,000, although the penalty is used as a last resort and few are dished out.

This is the first year the population count is being run in partnership with the Office of National Statistics, who will process the information.

The personal data will not be passed on to other organisations for 100 years, but will be used to produce population data in a number of different catagories.

These include the number of people following certain religions, in certain ethnic groups, of certain age groups, or the number of married, single, divorced, separated, widowed and remarried people.

Cllr Ferry said: “It's not a way of trapping people into coming out of the black economy into the main stream.

“Nobody's going to knock on your door and say you've filled in this form now we are going to bill you for national insurance and council tax and everything else.”

The statistics will be published in 2012 at which point any population increase is likely to lead to an increase in the council's grant from the Government.

Harrow has its own community advisor, Shamim Ibrahim, who is targetting Harrow's Indian population in an effort to persuade them to take part.

The authority will be holding a series of meetings and publicity events in an effort to promote the census from March 27 when it starts.