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Small Businesses

Volume 225: debated on Thursday 27 May 1993

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To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the average pre-tax turnover, (b) the number of start-ups and (c) the number of people employed for small businesses in Wales in each year since 1979.

The tables give an indication of the distribution of turnover between units, grouped by size, in Wales. Information prior to 1989 is not readily available and the size bands published were changed in 1991.New VAT registrations give an indication of the number of business start-ups for each year. Firms with a turnover of less than £1 million each year account for over 96 per cent. of the total.

YearNumber of new VAT registrations
19807,070
19817,122
19827,704
19838,044
19847,609
19857,264
19867,811
19878,682
198810,873
198910,916
199010,165
19918,408

Source: NOMIS.

Information on the numbers of employees employed in units of different size is available for 1984, 1987, 1989 and 1991 from the size-band analyses of the Censuses of Employment and given in the following table.

Employees in employment in Wales, by size of unit.

1

Thousands

Size of unit (employees)

September

1–49

50–199

200 and over

1984356·1189·4319·5
1987364·6204·2334·1
1989413·4209·8343·9
1991439·3217·4287·2

Source: Size-band analyses of Censuses of Employment, Employment Department (via NOMIS).

1 Excluding agriculture.

Number of units, by turnover size

Size of unit: turnover

Year

£22,000–£100,000

1

£101,000–£250,000

£251,000–£1,000,000

£1,001,000 and over

198944,05513,6357,2082,735
199044,76214,8208,1273,070

Source: PA 1003 Size analyses of United Kingdom businesses, Business Monitor, Central Statistical Office.

1 £23,000-£100,000 in 1990.

Number of units, by turnover size

Size of unit: turnover

Year

£1,000–£25,000

£26,000–£99,000

1

£100,000–£249,000

£250,000–£999,000

£1,000,000 and over

1991n.a.41,70916,9869,1073,467
199216,00836,13017,2239,4303,486

Source: PA 1003 Size analyses of United Kingdom businesses, Business Monitor, Central Statistical Office.

1 £24,000-£99,000 in 1991.