| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
20 Jan 2009 : Column 1320W—continued
| Start of year stock of VAT-registered businesses, 1997-2008 | |||
| Start of year | Cheadle parliamentary constituency | Stockport | North West region |
| Source: BERR National Statistics publication “Business start-ups and closures: VAT registrations and de-registrations 2007” available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat/index.htm | |||
The number of VAT-registered businesses in Stockport metropolitan borough rose from 7,840 at the start of 1997 to 9,435 at the start of 2008—a rise of 20 per cent.
The number of VAT-registered businesses in Cheadle rose from 2,475 at the start of 1997 to 3,015 at the start of 2008—a rise of 22 per cent.
The number of VAT-registered businesses in the North West rose from 160,165 at the start of 1997 to 194,695 at the start of 2008—a rise of 22 per cent.
VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £64,000 at the start of 2007. Only 1.96 million out of 4.7 million UK enterprises (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2007.
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many small and medium-sized enterprises were registered in (a) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the North West in each of the last five years. [246075]
Ian Pearson: Estimates of the number of registered small to medium-sized enterprise, in each of the last five years, are not available below the regional level.
Only data for businesses of all sizes registered for VAT are published by BERR. It is estimated that the majority (97.9 per cent.) of these will be small (with fewer than 50 employees) and a further 1.7 per cent. will be medium-sized (with 50 to 249 employees).
The number of businesses registered for VAT in Stockport metropolitan borough, Greater Manchester and the north-west for the start of 2004 to the start of 2008 is shown in the following table.
| Start of year stock of VAT-registered businesses, 2004-08 | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| Source: BERR National Statistics publication ‘Business start-ups and closures: VAT registrations and de-registrations 2007’ available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat/index.htm | |||||
The number of VAT-registered businesses in Stockport metropolitan borough rose from 8,665 at the start of 2004 to 9,435 at the start of 2008—a rise of 9 per cent.
The number of VAT-registered businesses in Greater Manchester rose from 64,665 at the start of 2004 to 70,800 at the start of 2008—a rise of 9 per cent.
The number of VAT-registered businesses in the north-west rose from 176,900 at the start of 2004 to 194,695 at the start of 2008—a rise of 10 per cent.
VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £64,000 at the start of 2007. Only 1.96 million out of 4.7 million UK enterprises (42 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2007.
Small Businesses: Procurement
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate his Department has made of the cost of running the Supply2.gov.uk website in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and what he estimates this cost to be in 2008-09. [246769]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 12 January 2009]: The supply2.gov.uk site is operated under a concession type contract with the supplier carrying the commercial risk. The initial set up cost borne by the Department of Trade and Industry in 2006 was £120,000. In 2008-09 BERR funded the provision of a free trial for businesses which ran between 1 May and 31 July 2008, at a cost of £110,310 (ex VAT). No other payments have been made in relation to the portal.
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many businesses were registered with Supply2.gov.uk in each month since June 2006; and how many he expects to register in each month to March 2009. [246770]
Ian Pearson [holding answer 12 January 2009]: No figures are available for business registrations on supply2.gov.uk. The number of supplier user registrations to November 2008 is set out in the following table.
| Number of supplier user registrations | |
3,400 users are projected to register in each month between December 2008 and March 2009.
Trade Unions
Stephen Hesford: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many trade union members there are in the UK; and in which 10 industries the proportion of employees who are union members is lowest. [248483]
Mr. McFadden: In 2007, the period for when latest data are available, the number of employees who were trade union members in the United Kingdom was approximately seven million.
In terms of the proportions, 28.0 per cent. of all employees were union members in the United Kingdom. The proportion of trade union members, broken down by the main industry groups and ranked from lowest to highest, is shown in the following table.
| Trade union density of UK employees( 1) by industry, 2007 | |
| Industry | Percentage |
| (1) Excludes members of the armed forces. Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics | |
Working Hours: EU Law
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the implications of the European Parliament's vote on the Working Time Directive on 17 December 2008 for his Department's policy on the Directive. [248367]
Mr. McFadden: The UK is one of 14 member states that enables workers to opt-out of the maximum 48-hour working week, should they wish to do so. This flexibility is used by over three million employees in the UK who choose to work longer hours. Loss of this opt-out would therefore cost the UK billions both in costs to industry and lost earnings. As a result, it could also only have a negative impact on overall employment levels.
The Government remain committed to fight for the continuation of this important flexibility and will be calling on the European Council to reject the damaging amendments on the Working Time Common Position adopted by the European Parliament.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |