Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate the Government has made of the number of general building firms operating within the repair, maintenance and improvement sector in England which are unlimited liability partnerships.
The repair, maintenance and improvement sector (RMI) is not part of the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Therefore, whilst the Government has data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) regarding the number of construction businesses operating, we do not maintain a database on how many of these businesses operate in the RMI sector, either solely or partially.
The most recent Construction Statistics annual tables were published by the ONS in December 2021 and relate to 2020 (please find the relevant data attached). Table 1.4 shows the value of RMI work carried out by businesses in different SIC sectors in Great Britain, and Table 3.5 provides information on the number of employees in such businesses, although the data does not show whether or not they undertake RMI work.
The ONS also publishes data on business counts by sector, country and legal status. The following data relates to March 2021 and only includes construction businesses in England which are registered for VAT and/or PAYE. It relates to SIC sector 412: Construction of residential and non-residential buildings, and it is therefore not specific to the RMI sector:
Legal Status | Total |
Company (including building society) | 51,840 |
Sole proprietor | 7,365 |
Partnership | 1,575 |
Column Total | 60,775 |
“Company” includes both limited by shares and limited liability partnerships, and “partnerships” refers to unlimited liability partnerships.