§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many bankruptcies of businesses have been notified to him since 3 May 1979; and how much of an increase this represents over the comparable figure for the years 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979, respectively.
15W
§ Mr. EyreFigures of bankruptcies are analysed only on a quarterly basis, and the latest figures available relate to the first quarter of 1980. For the period 1 April 1979 to 31 March 1980 the number of bankruptcies (plus deeds of arrangement) of the self-employed (sole traders and partnerships) in England and Wales was 2,487. Comparable figures for earlier years are as follows:
1975–76 4,698 1976–77 4,435 1977–78 3,092 1978–79 2,788