§ Mr. Robert BanksTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the total number of restaurants categorised as such in each of the last 10 years in(a) England and Wales, (b) Scotland and (c) Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. LeeThe information available relates to numbers of businesses, which may include more than one individual restaurant. For the years 1980 to 1986 the table below shows the available estimates for numbers of businesses in Great Britain which were classified as restaurants, snack bars, cafes, etc., supplying food for consumption on the premises only. Comparable figures for earlier years are not available.
Number of businesses 1980 11,512 1981 11,735 1982 11,817 1983 12,119 1984 12,692 1985 13,362 1986 14,348