MILLIONS of pounds in funding could be lost for Oxford if people living in the city do not complete their national census returns, the leader of the city council has warned.

Bob Price said he believed the last time the census was completed, in 2001, many residents had not bothered filling it out.

In 2001, the Office National Statistics said 134,248 people lived in the city – nine per cent fewer than Government estimates in the years leading up to the census.

Mr Price said: “The issue did seem to be linked with Oxford having a very mobile population.

“A number of people, up to nine per cent, were either uninterested or did not see themselves as permanent residents so did not bother to fill in the last census.

“Funding is partly affected by population size, so Oxford lost out substantially.”

Mr Price said the city and county councils, and the NHS in Oxfordshire, had all lost out on central Government funding, much of which is based on the census findings, as a result.

He added: “It is crucial for all the public bodies that the figures people are working with are accurate.”

It is a criminal offence not to return the census forms, which should be completed by everybody on Sunday.

Everyone is required to complete and return the questionnaire by law, or face prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.