Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the level of growth of small and medium-sized enterprises across West Yorkshire since 2010.

Statistics on the small and medium-sized business population are not available for West Yorkshire. Covering a larger geographical area, The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Business Population Estimates, in 2015 show there were 50,200 (15%) more small and medium-sized businesses in Yorkshire and the Humber region than in 2010.

The closest suitable geography is that of the Local Enterprise Partnership. ONS statistics show there were 98,500 small and medium-sized businesses registered for VAT or PAYE in 2015 in the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership area. The figure reported for 2010 was 83,200, although this was calculated on a different basis and is not strictly comparable.