HC Deb 13 March 2002 vol 381 cc1150-1W
Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of registered small businesses were located in rural areas in each year since 1990; and how many of those small businesses were (a) farming-related and (b) non-farming related. [40817]

Alun Michael

The earliest year for which information is available is 1994. Information on 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 is not readily available.

1994–35 per cent. of all VAT registered businesses are in rural districts/unitaries

  1. (a) 84,180 are in the agriculture and fishing sector (SIC19921)
  2. (b) 400,315 are in other sectors.

1997–35 per cent. of all VAT registered businesses are in rural districts/unitaries

  1. (a) 80,000 are in the agriculture and fishing sector (SIC19921)
  2. (b) 391075 are in other sectors.

2000–34 per cent. of all VAT registered businesses are in rural districts/unitaries

  1. (a) 76,995 are in the agriculture and fishing sector (SIC1992')
  2. (b) 405,915 are in other sectors.

2001–34 per cent. of all VAT registered businesses are in rural districts/unitaries

  1. (a) 76,906 are in the agriculture and fishing sector (SIC1992')
  2. (b) 409,560 are in other sectors.

1 Nearest Farming related category as listed in the Standard Industrial Classification 1992.

Notes:

1. Rural areas are defined as the rural local authority districts and unitary authorities as classified by the Rural Development Commission and currently used by the Countryside Agency.

2. As 99 per cent. of all businesses in rural areas are "small" i.e. less than 50 employees, the figure for all businesses is provided. Sources: District/Unitary data from IDBR via NOMIS Ward level data from ONS Neighbourhood Stats website from IDBR.

Mr. Breed

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of people were employed in rural areas by registered small businesses in each year since 1990; and how many of those employed worked in(a) farming-related and (b) non-farming related jobs. [40816]

Alun Michael

The information requested is not available from DEFRA sources. We are consulting the Office for National Statistics to see whether any figures can be produced.

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