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Mr. David Mitchell
asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many businesses have been wound up or made bankrupt in each of the last five years; and how many enterprises have commenced trading during the same period.
Mr. Clinton Davis
I regret that there are no records of the number of enterprises which have commenced trading. Figures for insolvencies in England and Wales up to 1977 were published in Trade and Industry—3 November 1978, page 245—and figures up to 1978 will be published in the 2 February 1979 issue. Figures for members' voluntary liquidations, when the company is not insolvent, are given in table 8a of Companies in 1977. Comparable 1978 figures for all categories are as follows:
| Bankruptcies* | 3,820 |
| Company liquidations— | |
| compulsory | 2,240 |
| creditors' voluntary | 2,840 |
| members' voluntary | 3,624 |
| *Receiving and administration orders made. | |