HC Deb 04 July 1990 vol 175 c610W
28. Mr. McLeish

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what proportion of Britain's small businesses is located in Scotland.

Mr. Lang

The statistical coverage of small businesses in Scotland is less comprehensive than that of the United Kingdom as a whole. Nevertheless, the Department of Employment has estimated that of the 1,574,000 United Kingdom businesses registered for VAT at the end of 1988, some 6.9 per cent. were in Scotland. The overwhelming majority of these will be relatively small businesses.