§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the(a) stock and (b) net change to stock of businesses as measured by VAT registrations in each region and nation of the UK in each year since 1996, (i) in total and (ii) per capita of population. [17725]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from Len Cook to Mr. Jim Cousins, dated 26 November 2001:
639WAs National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent question concerning the stock and net change of businesses as measured by VAT registrations in each region and nation of the UK since 1996 (17725).The information requested is shown in the following two tables.
Number of VAT-based enterprises per 1,000 people 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 North 18 18 18 18 18 18 North West 21 21 22 22 22 22 Yorkshire and Humberside 23 23 23 23 23 23 East Midlands 26 25 26 26 26 26 West Midlands 25 25 25 25 25 25 East Anglia 29 29 29 29 29 29 South East 30 31 31 32 32 33 South West 29 29 30 30 30 30 Wales 25 25 25 25 25 25 Scotland 22 22 23 23 23 23 Northern Ireland 31 31 31 31 31 31 Total 26 26 27 27 27 27 Source:
National Statistics
Inter Departmental Business Register, Population estimates (1996–2000) and projections (2001)