§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his Department's definition of a small business and a medium-sized business. [29563]
§ Mr. Page[holding answer 21 June 1995]: There is no single, official definition of what constitutes a small firm. There is, however, a wide range of definitions used in practice, each valid in its own context.
Eligibility for the annual SMART competition—small firms merit award for research—is limited to firms with a maximum of 50 employees. Eligibility under the loan guarantee scheme, however, is determined by both turnover and employee numbers and these vary from sector to sector. Generally, eligibility is limited to firms with fewer than 200 employees, except in the construction 375W sector where the limit is 25. In the manufacturing sector the turnover ceiling is £3 million whereas in the service sector it is £500,000.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many(a) small businesses and (b) medium-sized businesses were started up in each of the last 10 years; and if he will break these figures down by region and by gender of entrepreneur. [29564]
§ Mr. Page[holding answer 21 June 1995]: The number of businesses stated up in Great Britain is available from 1988 onwards and given in the table. Almost all business start-ups are small. Information on start-ups by gender is not available for each year in the table. Research carried out for Barclays bank suggests that of the businesses started up in 1994, nearly three out of 10 were started by women.
The best guide to trends in the number of businesses started up by region is given by registrations for VAT. Copies of "VAT Registrations and Deregistrations, County and District Analyses "1980–1991", and "VAT Registrations and Deregistrations, County and District Analyses 1992–1993" are in the Library of the House.
Number of business start-ups 1988–1994 in Great Britain Year Starts (thousands) 1988 422 1989 447 1990 444 1991 374 1992 364 1993 405 1994 446 Source: Barclays Economics Department.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many people were employed by(a) small businesses and (b) medium-sized businesses in each of the last 10 years; and if he will break these figures down by region and gender. [29565]
§ Mr. Page[holding answer 21 June 1995]: The number of people employed in businesses of different sizes are given in the table below. The figures are available for some of the last 10 years only. Although there is no official definition of what constitutes a small firm, the usual practice in statistical analyses is to consider firms with fewer than 100 employees small, and those with between 100 and 499 employees medium sized. There is no breakdown of these figures by region or gender.
Number employed by size of business, UK 1986–1991, thousands Year Small (under 100 employees) Medium (100–499 employees) Large (500+ employees) All 1986 9,600 3,300 6,900 19,800 1988 10,400 3,600 7,200 21,300 1989 11,300 3,300 7,300 21,900 1990 11,100 3,600 7,000 21,700 1991 10,500 3,400 6,700 20,600 Source: NatWest Review of Small Business Trends, June 1993, June 1994.
§ Ms PrimaroloTo ask the President of the Board of Trade which sectors of the economy(a) small businesses and (b) medium-sized businesses are predominantly to be found. [29566]
376W
§ Mr. Page[holding answer 21 June 1995]: The numbers of businesses of different sizes in each industry division are given in the table. Although there is no official definition of what constitutes a small firm, the usual practice in statistical analyses is to consider firms with fewer than 100 employees small; and those with between 100 and 499 employees medium sized.
Number of businesses by employee size class by sector, 1991 UK, number of businesses Industry (SIC80) Small (under 100 employees) Medium (100–499 employees) Large (500+employees) All All sectors1 2,505,463 16,090 2,753 2,524,306 Energy and water supply 2,432 104 67 2,603 Extraction 15,477 498 209 16,184 Metal manufacture 95,353 1,739 470 97,562 Other manufacturing 175,853 1,739 474 178,066 Construction 541,646 664 123 542,433 Distribution, hotels and catering 654,123 6,721 567 661,411 Transport and communication 146,042 650 90 146,782 Banking and finance 377,351 1,617 450 379,418 Other services 497,186 2,358 303 499,847 1 Excludes Agriculture, forestry and fishing. Source: Enterprises in Europe, Third Report.