- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many business closures there were in each year from 5 April 1990 to 4 April 2003.
Answer
Business closures are normally measured by VAT de-registrations. These are published annually on a calendar year basis. The latest available data is for 2001. Changes to the VAT threshold in 1994 mean that data before that date are not directly comparable with data from 1994 onwards. The following table shows business closures in Scotland from 1990 to 2001.Vat De-Registrations in Scotland 1990-2001
| 1990 | 12,530 |
| 1991 | 13,190 |
| 1992 | 13,055 |
| 1993 | 13,600 |
| 1994 (discontinuity in series) | 12,560 |
| 1995 | 12,020 |
| 1996 | 11,535 |
| 1997 | 11,540 |
| 1998 | 10,930 |
| 1999 | 11,900 |
| 2000 | 11,390 |
| 2001 | 10,745 |
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many new businesses were created in the year to 4 April 2003.
Answer
New businesses are normally measured by VAT registrations. The latest available data is for 2001.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual percentage change in business closures was between the years 5 April 2001 to 4 April 2002 and 5 April 2002 to 4 April 2003, broken down by industry sector, and what information it has on how these figures compare with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answer
According to the Department of Trade and Industry's Small Business Service, 862,270 "companies and public corporations" were active in the UK in 2001. In the same year 45,200 companies and public corporations had their head office in Scotland. This represents 5.2% of the UK total.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were declared redundant as a result of business closures in the year to 4 April 2003.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many business closures there were in the last quarter of the year to 4 April (a) 2002 and (b) 2003.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. Business closures are normally measured by VAT de-registrations. These are only available on a calendar year basis. The latest available data is for 2001.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 24 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Wallace on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what the annual percentage change in business closures was between the years 5 April 2001 to 4 April 2002 and 5 April 2002 to 4 April 2003, broken down by industry sector, and what information it has on how these figures compare with the rest of the United Kingdom.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally. Business closures are normally measured by VAT de-registrations. These are only available on a calendar year basis with the latest available data being for 2001.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many employees were temporarily employed in its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department and what the total annual equivalent remuneration of such employees was on 30 April 2003.
Answer
There were nine temporarily employed casual staff employed within Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department at the end of April 2003. Their basic salaries totalled £100,000 annually.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 23 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 3 July 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive how many permanent civil service employees were employed in its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department and what the total annual remuneration of such employees was on 30 April 2003.
Answer
There were 353 permanent staff employed within Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department at the end of April 2003 (a working time equivalent of 341.8). Their basic salaries totalled £8.2 million annually.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 June 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Andy Kerr on 19 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive what effect the Chancellor of the Exchequer's proposals on regional pay bargaining for public sector workers will have on recruitment, retention and payroll budgets.
Answer
The Scottish Executive expects all public sector bodies to manage their resources, including pay costs, within the three-year spending limits agreed in the course of Spending Review 2002.Responsibility for public sector pay is a devolved matter. The Scottish Executive will continue to monitor closely developments on pay in other parts of the UK and decide what, if any, measures on regional pay flexibility are necessary for Scottish interests.
- Asked by: Jim Mather, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 19 May 2003
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Current Status:
Answered by Ross Finnie on 9 June 2003
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will direct Scottish Water to review its harmonisation of business water rate charges, given the impact that such harmonisation has had on businesses in the Highlands and Islands.
Answer
The levels of charges set for each customer is, as specified by the Water Industry (Scotland) Act 2002, a matter for the Water Industry Commissioner and Scottish Water to agree. Each scheme must raise income by no more than the revenue cap specified by ministers and by 2006, charges must be harmonised for all business and household customers.
