§ Mr. GryllsTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will state the average net number of new businesses started each week between 1 January 1990 and 30 June 1990 as measured by VAT returns.
§ Mr. ForthI regret that figures for 1990 are not yet available. However, during 1989, the latest period for which figures have been published by my Department, the number of businesses registered for VAT increased by nearly 1,700 a week on average. Early indications from data collected by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise are that there continues to be a substantial surplus of registrations over deregistrations.