HC Deb 11 December 2003 vol 415 cc558-9W
Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many self-employed people have declared themselves bankrupt in each quarter since quarter one of 2002. [143150]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The number of self-employed people declared bankrupt in England and Wales from the first quarter of 2002 to the second quarter of 2003 is shown in the following table. Total bankruptcies are also provided to put the figures in context. The sub-division of total bankruptcies into self-employed and other categories is not yet available for third quarter 2003.

Self-employed bankruptcies Total bankruptcies
2002
Q1 2,261 6,027
Q2 2,235 6,269
Q3 2,244 6,249
Q4 2,114 5,757
2003
Q1 2,468 6,912
Q2 2,267 6,948
Q3 n/a 7,217

Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many self-employed individuals were declared bankrupt(a) in the third quarter of 2003 and (b) since 1 October, broken down by industrial sector; and how many (i) employees, (ii) unemployed people and those with no occupation, (iii) directors and promoters of companies and (iv) people whose occupation is unknown were declared bankrupt (A) in the third quarter of 2003 and (B) since 1st October. [143256]

Mr. Sutcliffe

[holding answer 10 December 2003]: There were 7,217 bankruptcies as a whole in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2003. The requested breakdown into types of individual is published one quarter in arrears of the main series and is not yet available for third quarter 2003. The third quarter data will be published on 6 February 2004. The latest data published on 7 November 2003 cover up to the second quarter of 2003 and are attached.

Bankruptcies in England and Wales—Industrial analysis
2002 2002
Industry Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2
Metals and engineering 72 66 63 77 50
Textiles and clothing 7 7 11 21 9
Timber and furniture 15 15 11 23 22
Paper, printing and publishing 12 22 18 18 9
Other 26 30 24 27 28
Total 141 147 133 174 122
Construction and Transport
Construction 393 452 387 456 422
Transport and communication 279 260 271 301 300
Total 672 712 658 757 722
Wholesaling
Food, drink and tobacco 11 9 8 13 4
Motor vehicles 5 2 4 10 0
Other 12 3 16 15 5
Total 28 14 28 38 9
Retailing
Food, drink and tobacco 73 79 71 68 58
Motor vehicles and filling stations 25 38 37 38 35
Other 187 150 144 160 146
Total 285 267 252 266 239
Services
Insurance 9 5 9 4 8
Other financial and business services 296 241 267 286 269
Hotels and catering 225 291 250 263 293
Total 530 537 526 553 570
Other 544 533 496 638 555
Total self-employed 2,235 2,244 2,114 2,468 2,267
Other individuals
Employees 1,565 1,502 1,377 1,676 1,752
No occupation and unemployed 1,748 1,853 1,688 2,133 2,217
Directors and promoters of companies 82 67 85 72 102
Occupation unknown 639 583 483 563 610
Total other individuals 4,034 4,005 3,633 4,444 4,681
Total bankruptcies 6,269 6,249 5,747 6,912 6,948

Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will provide a breakdown by(a) age, (b) sex, (c) ethnicity, (d) region, (e) housing tenure and (f) household structure of individuals declared bankrupt in (i) each year since 1997 and (ii) each quarter in 2003. [143257]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The official bankruptcy figures for England and Wales are available broken down by the

Number of bankruptcies in England and Wales by regions classified according to Official Receiver's Offices
2003
1999 2000 2001 2002 Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3
Anglia 3,408 3,144 3,521 3,527 1,013 1,003 1,082
London 1,286 1,285 1,427 1,457 450 463 479
Midlands 3,066 3,187 3,409 3,501 1,046 1,002 1,105
North East 3,396 3,838 4,228 4,227 1,082 1,208 1,185
North West 3,517 3,640 4,108 4,116 1,020 1,208 1,039
South East 2,931 2,730 2,755 3,052 1,017 999 1,056
South West 4,002 3,720 4,023 4,401 1,281 1,351 1,267
Public Interest Unit 5 6 6 11 3 3 4
National total 21,611 21,550 23,477 24,292 6,912 6,948 7,217