§ Albert OwenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many registered businesses were registered for VAT in(a) the UK, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) England in each year since 1996–97 [174067]
§ Nigel GriffithsBarclays 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 in the last 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.
1119WThe following table records Barclays business creation data for England and Wales in each year since 1996:
Business start-ups 1996 406,000 1997 415,700 1998 412,200 1999 374,400
Stocks 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 UK 1,629,165 1,645,540 1,681,335 1,715,395 1,736,360 1,754,915 1,762,355 1,762,110 England 1,377,30 1,393,070 1,426,265 1,458,720 1,479,900 1,498,425 1,505,575 1,505,495 Wales 77,545 77,170 77,390 77,345 76,905 76,955 76,990 76,310 Scotland 120,225 120,670 122,260 123,355 123,565 123,800 123,980 124,200 Northern Ireland 54,090 54,635 55,420 55,980 55,990 55,735 55,810 56,100 Source:
Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Stocks 1994–2002, Small Business Service, available from www.sbs.gov.uk/statistics/vatstats.phpVAT stocks do not capture all business 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.