HC Deb 04 December 1991 vol 200 cc132-3W
Mr. Caborn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what types of business have been created by the enterprise allowance, broken down by standard industrial classification, or by manufacturing, construction, transport and distribution, retail, private services, and other, giving details for(a) Sheffield and (b) the United Kingdom.

Mr. Forth

Information on the numbers of new businesses started through the enterprise allowance scheme, broken down by the slightly modified standard industrial classification used for this scheme, is given in the following table.

The figures are for the year ending 31 March 1991 and cover Great Britain only. A similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland, but the Employment Department does not collect information on this. Separate information for the Sheffield area is not available.

Industrial classification of EAS businesses—1 April 1990 to 31 March 1991—United Kingdom
Category Total Percentage
Agriculture, forest, fish 2,266 3.76
Manufacturing 8,259 13.69
Construction 7,608 12.62
Distribution and retail 9,387 15.57
Hotel and catering 1,592 2.64
Repair of goods 2,565 4.25
Transport 2,435 4.04
Business services 7,717 12.80
Other services 17,338 28.75
Not classified 1,140 1.88
Grand Totals 60,307 100.00

Mr. Caborn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of business start-ups the enterprise allowance constitutes for each year from 1987 to date, giving figures for (a) Sheffield and (b) the United Kingdom.

Mr. Forth

The information requested is not available.

Mr. Caborn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people have been on the enterprise allowance scheme each year from 1987 to date, giving figures for(a) Sheffield and (b) the United Kingdom.

Mr. Forth

The numbers of people joining the enterprise allowance scheme are recorded in financial years, as shown in the following table. The figures cover Great Britain only: a similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland, but the Employment Department does not collect information on this.

Enterprise allowance scheme participants 1987 to 1991
Year Sheffield Great Britain
1987–88 1,712 106,305
1988–89 1,686 98,522
1989–90 1,206 77,886
1990–91 770 60,307
1991–92 1438 227,195
1 Up to 4 November 1991.
2 Up to 30 September 1991, which is the latest date for which comprehensive Great Britain information is available.

Mr. Caborn

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what are the success rates for businesses started on enterprise allowance for each year from 1987 to date, giving figures for(a) Sheffield and (b) the United Kingdom.

Mr. Forth

The table shows the proportion of enterprise allowance scheme businesses which completed a full year on the scheme. A 1988 survey of a sample of EAS businesses begun in March and April of 1987 showed that 76 per cent. of businesses in Great Britain were still trading six months after completing a full year on the scheme. Information specific to Sheffield is not available from this survey.

Enterprise allowance businesses completing a full year on the scheme
Year 1Great Britain percentage 2Sheffield/Rotherham percentage
1987–88 83.44 n/a
1988–89 83.84 83.06
1989–90 82.63 83.53
1 The figures given are for Great Britain only: a similar scheme operates in Northern Ireland but the Employment Department does not collect information on this.
2 Sheffield and Rotherham were covered by the same field office at this time and the figures cannot be separated out to give information on Sheffield only.

Success rates for businesses started in 1990–91 will not be known until the end of the 1991–92 financial year.

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