§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many petrol retailers(a) are in operation and (b) have been closed and sealed since 1990, classed in the categories (i) oil company sites, (ii) main retailer sites, (iii) supermarket sites, (iv) smaller retailer sites and (v) other unbranded sites; and if she will make a statement. [10462]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Institute of Petroleum's(IP) annual "UK Retail Marketing Survey" (lam published in March 2001) provides data on the total number of petrol retail outlets in operation in the UK.
The following table, using the IP data, shows the number of petrol retail outlets in operation in the UK in 1990 and 2000, broken down by the specific categories outlined in the question.
Site category 1990 2000 Oil company sites 16,044 8,420 Main retailer sites 2,819 2,483 Supermarket sites1 58 1,027 Smaller retail sites2 40 247 Other unbranded sites 504 866 Total 19,465 13,043 1 In 1990, some supermarket sites displayed oil company brands and the IP subsumed these sites within the oil company site and main retailer site totals. The total number of supermarket sites retailing petrol in 1990 was 294 2 The smaller retail site category accounts for those companies with 50 petrol retail sites or less Data on petrol station sites that have been sealed after closure are not collated centrally.