Small Businesses

Mr. Ron Davies
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.

Sir Wyn Roberts
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.
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|Year|
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|1980|
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|1981|
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|1982|
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|1983|
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|1984|
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|1985|
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|1986|
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|1987|
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|1988|
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|1989|
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|1990|
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|1991|
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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.
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|    |
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|1984|
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|1987|
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|1989|
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|1991|
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Source: Size-band analyses of Censuses of Employment, Employment Department (via NOMIS).

1 Excluding agriculture.

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|    |
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|1989|
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|1990|
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Source: PA 1003 Size analyses of United Kingdom businesses, Business Monitor, Central Statistical Office.

1 £23,000-£100,000 in 1990.
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|    |
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|1991|n.a.|
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|1992|16,008|
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Source: PA 1003 Size analyses of United Kingdom businesses, Business Monitor, Central Statistical Office.

1 £24,000-£99,000 in 1991.