Croydon central MP, Andrew Pelling, has called on the Government to plough more money into Croydon because of its rising migrant population.

The current figures for immigrants living in Croydon, according to Mr Pelling, have been grossly underestimated leaving residents “shortchanged” by central Government.

Mr Pelling said: “I believe from my casework of which 50 per cent is migrancy casework and looking at population statistics from GP registrations that our population is 39,000 higher than what we actually get money from government for.

“We are short changed in other words by the money for 39,000 extra people living in the borough.”

In a letter to John Healey, Minister for Local Government, Mr Pelling added: “Croydon is changing quickly and we desperately need the statistical analysis to keep up with it so as to allow government to make the best possible judgement on an allocation of resources to the Borough.

"We are now much less a prosperous Outer London Borough and much more a challenged inner urban town.

Mr Healey said: “The first piece of advice is that the council should manage what it has got over this three-year settlement well.

"It should manage it efficiently and do more to tighten its belt, as everybody expects councils to do at the moment.

“Secondly, the hon. Gentleman’s council, like many others, will be interested in two areas of work that we have under way at the moment, working closely with local government.

"The first involves considering the future basis for deciding grants from central Government to local government, while the second involves improving the collection of population and migration statistics.

“Local government has a big role to play in that and can make a valuable contribution to that work. I hope that the hon. Gentleman will encourage his council to do just that.”