36.
asked the Paymaster General if he will make a statement on regional variations in the numbers of self-employed.
Estimates of the numbers self-employed in each region are recorded on page 40 of the supplement published with the February edition Employment Gazette, a copy of which is in the Library. In each region there were more self-employed in 1985, the latest year for which firm estimates are available, than in 1979.
50.
asked the Paymaster General what is his most recent estimate of the number of self-employed in the United Kingdom; and what was the comparable number in May 1979.
In September 1986, the latest date for which figures are available, there were an estimated 2,775,000 self-employed people in the United Kingdom. In June 1979 (figures are not available for May) the number was 1,925,000.