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Dept of Trade and Industry

Answer

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, how many VAT registered enterprises there are in the constituency of the Rhondda. [204608] Nigel Griffiths: Barclays data show that there were 1,900 business start-ups in the Rhondda, Cynon and Taff local authority (for which Rhondda is a constituency) and Merthyr Tydfil local authority combined in 2003. There were a further 900 in Rhondda, Cynon and Taff local authority in the first six months of 2004. Business start-up data for local authorities are not available for before 2003. Barclays Bank's latest survey of business creation includes non-VAT registered firms and shows that there were 465,000 business start-ups in England and Wales in 2003, a 19 per cent. increase on the year before. A further 288,000 business started up in England and Wales in the first six months of 2004. This represents an increase of 23 per cent. on the first six months of 2003. DTI figures based solely on the stock of businesses registered for VAT show that there were 3,725 businesses registered fro VAT in Rhondda, Cynon and Taff local authority (for which Rhondda is a constituency) at the start of 2004. There were 365 new VAT registrations in Rhondda, Cynon and Taff in 20031. VAT stocks do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which has risen in each year since 1997. Only 1.8 million out of four million enterprises were registered for VAT at the start of 2003. Source: 1 Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT registrations and de- registrations 1994/2003, Small Business Service. www.sbs.gov.uk/ analytical/statistics/vatstats.php

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

204608; 428 c1129-30W;428 c1130W

Session

2004-05

Subjects

Companies Business New businesses Registration Small businesses VAT Rhondda Cynon Taf

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk