§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment she has made of the performance of SMEs in Staffordshire. [13891]
§ Mrs. Roche[holding answer 3 November 1997]: According to the Interdepartmental Business Register (IDBR) there are 3,328 SMEs in Staffordshire who fall into the 10–199 employee category.
VAT registration data suggest that new business generation in Staffordshire is slightly below the regional and national averages. In 1995 the Staffordshire business formation rate was 9.4 per cent., West Midlands 9.9 per cent. and the UK 10.3 per cent. However, there is evidence to show that Staffordshire Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are more likely to survive in business. Of the Staffordshire SMEs joining the VAT register in 1990, 43.4 per cent. were still registered 4 years later compared with 42.2 per cent. regionally and 41.9 per cent. nationally.
Of the 3,238 SMEs in Staffordshire,
1,099 (33 per cent.) have used the services of Business Link Staffordshire.356 Staffordshire companies which have 3–250 employees are committed to attaining the Investors in People Standard.A further 116 companies of this size have already attained the Investors in People Standard.