HC Deb 12 May 2004 vol 421 cc432-3W
Mr. Borrow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new businesses have started up in South Ribble since 1997. [172145]

Nigel Griffiths

Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 115,000 business start-ups in England and Wales, including 2,600 in Lancashire County (which contains the constituency of South Ribble), in the fourth quarter of 2003. The latest yearly figures show 465,000 business start-ups in England and Wales in 2003. This represents a 19 per cent. increase on the year before. There were 10,200 business start-ups in Lancashire County in 2003. Data for counties are not available for before 2003.

DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations for South Ribble and West Lancashire local authorities (which contain the constituency of South Ribble) are shown in the table for the period 1997 to 2002. Data for 2003 will be available in autumn 2004.

VAT registrations: 1997–2002
South Ribble West Lancashire
1997 275 260
1998 300 245
1999 255 290
2000 280 265
2001 240 285
2002 250 265
Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994–2002, Small Business Service, available from: www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.php

VAT registrations do not capture all start-up activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Similarly, businesses that de-register will not necessarily have closed. Only 1.8 million out of 3.8 million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2002.

Mr. Borrow

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Government has taken to help small businesses in South Ribble since 1997. [172146]

Nigel Griffiths

The Business Link Operator for North and West Lancashire has provided assistance to 2,083 enterprises in the South Ribble constituency since 2001. The Small Business Service (SBS) was set up as an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry in April 2000. Contracts were exchanged with a national network of 45 Business Link Operators (seven in the North West) to provide Business Support to small and medium sized enterprises from April 2001. Before this date Government Support to businesses was provided through Training and Enterprise Councils and the Small Business Service does not have access to this data.

The type of assistance provided by the Business Link Operator includes pre-starts, start up advice, intensive assists, IT support, Investors In People.

In addition under the Enterprise Grant Scheme three companies have received offers of grant with a total value of £167,883 since 1997. This scheme has now come to a close from the 1 April 2004.