When I began to research Brighton and Hove City Council, I came across a rather odd situation.
Brighton is listed as having a population of 247,000 and, being a unitary authority, bases its finances on that figure.
However, looking at records and newspaper articles, there is a known discrepancy of 12,000 missing persons and an error of five per cent on the national census, so a better figure for Brighton and Hove's population would be about 290,000.
On speaking to civil servants, I discover the error is thought to be as much as ten per cent.
This would make the total number of people living in the Brighton area close to 300,000.
If this is indeed the case, then it is no wonder the council cannot balance its books.
-Jim Evans, Kemp Town
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