Hampshire County Council could receive £5m from the Government after findings in the 2001 Census.

The county has a growing population of elderly, which could translate into more cash for social services.

The news comes amidst plans from Westminster to redistribute funds from southern England to areas regarded as more deprived in the North.

The county fears it will be up to £80m worse off and is running a campaign, "Hands off Hampshire", to lobby against the redistribution.

Backing the drive, Winchester MP, Mark Oaten, said: "There's certainly a 'them and us' culture in which Hampshire is perceived as wealthy and leafy, but that is not always the case."

Mr Oaten asked parliamentary under-secretary, Christopher Leslie, if the Government would use the 2001 Census in working out Hampshire's revised budget.

Mr Leslie, who represents Skipton, said the Government would use the most up-to-date statistics. "We have to make sure that the census data is incorporated."

After the debate at Westminster, Mr Oaten said: "I got assurances from the minister that next year's funding won't be below this year's, but he couldn't give commitments of increases in line with inflation. That's bad news."