§ Mr. Stephen O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her estimate is of the(a) number and (b) economic input of small businesses employing fewer than 10 people in the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available. [160133]
§ Nigel GriffithsAt the start of 2002 there were an estimated 3,596,855 businesses in the private sector (including public corporations and nationalised bodies) in the United Kingdom employing fewer than 10 people. This was 95 per cent. of the total number of UK private sector businesses.
72Wdemand for employees with (a) high, (b) intermediate and (c) lower level qualifications, broken down as a percentage of the UK workforce. [158853]
§ Mr. SutcliffeI refer to my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State's reply to the hon. Member's Question No. 155288 answered on 24 February,Official Report, column 396W, which set out how we seek to understand and raise employer demand for skills by working with the Sector Skills Development Agency and the Skills for Business Network to ensure that employers have the skills they require both now and in the future.
My right hon. Friend Secretary of State for Education and Skills may be able to offer further evidence on demand for qualifications but I refer you to the publication "Skills in England—2002" and the following table 6.11 gives the projected change in employment by qualifications from 1999 to 2010.
These businesses employing fewer than 10 people had an estimated combined turnover of £482,984 million. This was 22 per cent of the total turnover in UK private sector businesses.
These are the latest figures available.