Written question asked by Paul Marsden (Liberal Democrat) on Wednesday, 16 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 22 March 2005. It was answered by Nigel Griffiths (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 March 2005 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many businesses have ceased trading in Shrewsbury and Atcham in each year since 1997.

Answer: Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many businesses have ceased trading in Shrewsbury and Atcham in each year since 1997. [223181] Nigel Griffiths: DTI figures based solely on VAT de- registrations for Shrewsbury and Atcham local authority are shown as follows for 1997 to 2003. VAT de-registrations _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Shrewsbury and Atcham 1997 230 1998 225 1999 220 2000 245 2001 205 2002 220 2003 240 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Source: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2003, Small Business Service, available from: http://www.sbs.gov.uk/analytical/statistics/ vatstats.php Data for 2004 will be available in autumn 2005.

Secondary information