§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the(a) start-up and (b) failure rate was for small businesses in (i) the North West Region, (ii) Merseyside and (iii) St. Helens in each year since 1992. [142715]
§ Nigel GriffithsVAT registrations are the best official guide to start-ups. VAT de-registrations and insolvency statistics give an indication of failure rates and numbers.
The rates of businesses registering and de-registering for VAT in each calendar year from 1992 to 2002 in the North West Government Office Region, Merseyside and St. Helens, are as follows:
For further information on the DTI insolvency statistics please see: www.dtistats.net/sd/insolv/index.htm