YESTERDAY (Thursday) marked 100 days until the 2011 Census in Slough, and residents are being urged to fill out the poll so the borough gets the funding it needs for the next decade.

Sunday, March 27 signifies the delivery and completion of the census, which will be hitting the streets of the UK to calculate the number of people living in each city, town and village.

Residents will start receiving forms from the beginning of March via Royal Mail to be filled out on March 27, and are being asked not to throw out any mail with the purple census logo on the front.

The census, which is run by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), determines the amount of funding needed by each local authority, health care service, police force and fire brigade.

Slough Borough Council will receive Government funding of £600 per person, per year, with other public services together receiving more than £1,000 per person, per year.

The ONS says Slough has about 120,000 people living in the borough, but Thames Valley Water estimates suggest the population could be 150,000 or more.

Cllr Fiza Matloob, commissioner for opportunity and skills at the council, said: "We're committed to making sure Slough residents receive the best service they can, but without an accurate account of how many people are living in the borough, it's hard to supply services on less funding.

"It's very important every household in Slough is counted.

"Getting the census count complete will really make a difference to the level of services we can provide. We'll only have one chance to get this right to secure essential services for Slough." For more information on the census, visit www.census.gov.uk or www.slough.gov.uk/census