§ Linda PerhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will require the London Development Agency to(a) set an annual target for increasing the total of start-up units in London and (b) publish an annual register showing where such business premises are located. [136617]
§ Jacqui SmithThe London Development Agency currently has an annual target for creating or attracting new businesses in London, set at 900 for the current year. The LDA Corporate Plan 2003–06 envisages this annual target being increased to 950 in 2005–06. The Agency also monitors the number of VAT registrations in London's most deprived wards.
The Government does not publish figures relating to the number of business start-ups or closures, and there are no plans to do so. VAT registrations and de-registrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business start-up and closure, and are published by the Small Business Service and Office for National Statistics on an annual basis.