§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list for each year since 1978–79 the number of small businesses in Scotland. [22393]
§ Mr. Wilson[holding answer 12 January 1998]: There is no single official definition of a small business. For Scotland, the best guide to trends in the number of small businesses is given by the number of VAT-registered enterprises.
VAT registered businesses: Scotland, 1980–961, 2 Stock at start of year 1980 100,015 1981 100,965 1982 102,715 1983 103,785 1984 106,000 1985 108,210 1986 109,735 1987 111,485 1988 113,165 1989 115,455 1990 119,090 1991 122,770 1992 119,140 1993 118,755 1994 119,825 1995 118,610 1996 117,785 1997 118,125 Notes:
1Large increases in the threshold for VAT registration in 1991 and 1993 mean that the estimates for 1980–91, 1992–93 and 1994–96 are not entirely comparable.
2Figures for 1980–93 count VAT reporting units. Figures for 1994–96 count whole VAT registered enterprises.
Source:
DTI Statistical Bulletin, "Business Start-ups and closures: VAT registrations and deregistrations 1980–96".