§ Mr. Tim Smithasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies were registered at the latest available date; of these, how many were in liquidation or in the course of removal; of the effective balance, how many were public companies and how many private, how many trading and how many dormant; and of those trading, how many had a turnover of £250,000 or less, how many £250,000–£10 million and how many in excess of £10 million.
§ Mr. John Smith:The number of companies registered at 31st December 1977 was as follows:
On register In liquidation or course of removal Effective number on register England and Wales: Public 15,439 1,120 14,319 Private 657,581 76,221 581,360 673,020 77,341 595,679 Scotland: Public 1,380 64 1,316 Private 31,598 1,398 30,200 32,978 1,462 31,516 Source: Department of Trade's Annual Report "Companies in 1977". Information relating to the number of dormant companies or the turnover of trading companies is not readily avail-able.