What information it has on how many (a) grocers, (b) butchers, (c) bakers, (d) fishmongers, (e) newsagents, (f) confectioners, (g) tobacco …

Data on business sites by industrial sector are available from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR, maintained by the Office for National Statistics, is a database of all enterprises registered for VAT and/or PAYE in the UK. Those excluded are small businesses with no employees and an annual turnover below the VAT threshold (£70,000 at March 2011).
Business sites are categorised on the IDBR according to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). It is not possible to obtain figures for the exact categories requested due to the SIC structure. The data in the following tables are the closest SIC equivalents. Note that the SIC 2003 codes have now been replaced by new SIC 2007 codes. Data for 2008-11 are provided on a SIC2007 basis (Table 1), whereas data for 2007 are provided on a SIC2003 basis (Table 2). Therefore the data for 2007 are not directly comparable with that for 2008-11. Note also that it is not possible to identify newsagent retail outlets specifically for the year 2007 using the SIC2003 codes.
Table 1: Business Sites in Selected Codes (SIC2007), Scotland, March Each Year
SIC 2007
Description
2008
2009
2010
2011
46310
Wholesale of fruit and vegetables
210
210
190
180
46320
Wholesale of meat and meat products
175
170
155
150
46350
Wholesale of tobacco products
10
10
5
5
46360
Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionary
35
45
45
45
46380
Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
280
265
265
270
47210
Retail sale of fruit & vegetables in specialised stores
400
355
365
360
47220
Retail sale of meat and meat products, in specialised stores
755
730
725
700
47230
Retail sale of fish, crustaceans and molluscs, in specialised stores
275
260
245
250
47240
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionary and sugar confectionary in specialised stores
815
810
820
835
47260
Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores
280
240
220
215
47620
Retail sale of newspapers and stationery in specialised stores
580
595
640
635
Source: Inter-Departmental Business Register, Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
Business site counts are rounded to the nearest five.
Business sites are the individual sites within an enterprise i.e. every store, branch, office.
Table 2: Business Sites in Selected Codes (SIC2003), Scotland, March 2007
SIC 2003
Description
2007
51310
Wholesale of fruit and vegetables
190
51320
Wholesale of meat and meat products
200
51350
Wholesale of tobacco products
10
51360
Wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionary
30
51380
Wholesale of other food, including fish, crustaceans and molluscs
300
52210
Retail sale of fruit and vegetables
480
52220
Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores
770
52230
Retail sale of fish, crustaceans and molluscs in specialised stores
280
52240
Retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionary and sugar confectionary in specialised stores
845
52260
Retail sale of tobacco products in specialised stores
350
Source: Inter-Departmental Business Register, Office for National Statistics.
Notes:
Business site counts are rounded to the nearest five.
Business sites are the individual sites within an enterprise i.e. every store, branch, office.