§ Mr. PriskTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the number of(a) new businesses, (b) business closures and (c) companies registered for value added tax in each year since 1996–97. [137602]
§ Nigel GriffithsI have been asked to reply.
The numbers of businesses that registered and de-registered for VAT in each calendar year since 1996, and the number of businesses that were registered at the start of each of these years (stocks), in the United Kingdom, are available at www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php, and are as follows:
Registrations De-registrations Stocks 1996 171,005 154,630 1,629,165 1997 187,690 151,900 1,645,540 1998 187,515 153,450 1,681,335 1999 181,370 160,410 1,715,395 2000 184,035 165,475 1,736,360 2001 174,620 167,185 1,754,915 2002 175,800 176,040 1,762,355 2003 1— 1— 1,762,110 1Not yet available These figures for the number of businesses comprise companies, partnerships and sole traders. Figures are not available for the number of companies alone.