Written Question · S6W-39554 · Session 6
How many (a) agricultural, (b) forestry and (c) fishing businesses closed down in (i) 2023-24, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) 2025-26 to date.
The question
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) agricultural, (b) forestry and (c) fishing businesses closed down in (i) 2023-24, (ii) 2024-25 and (iii) 2025-26 to date.
The answer
The preferred source for data on business closures is the annual Office for National Statistics (ONS) Business Demography series, the latest edition is available at: Business demography, UK
- Office for National Statistics. Business closures are a proxy for the number of businesses closed down. Business closures are measured as businesses removed from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. A business is removed from the IDBR if its turnover and employment are zero for several periods, or if the ONS is notified that the business has ceased trading through an administrative or survey source.Note that the annual publication does not include data for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector. However, business closures for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector are included as part of the quarterly ONS Business Demography series – these data for Scotland are provided in table 1. We don’t have access to disaggregated quarterly data for the agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors separately.It is important to note that the quarterly ONS Business Demography series is classed as official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are in the testing phase and are not yet fully developed, and will potentially have a wider degree of uncertainty. In particular, the last four quarters of the ONS series are provisional and are subject to future revision. Revisions can arise due to business reactivations as later information on business turnover or employment is received.Table 1: Business Closures – Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing – ScotlandQuarterAgriculture,Forestry andFishingQ1 2017185Q2 2017180Q3 2017155Q4 2017125Q1 2018180Q2 2018190Q3 2018130Q4 2018180Q1 2019140Q2 2019270Q3 2019195Q4 2019170Q1 2020200Q2 2020200Q3 2020155Q4 2020175Q1 2021170Q2 2021195Q3 2021185Q4 2021190Q1 2022235Q2 2022280Q3 2022205Q4 2022210Q1 2023230Q2 2023225Q3 2023220Q4 2023160Q1 2024185Q2 2024195 Q3 2024*230Q4 2024*225Q1 2025*205Q2 2025*275Source: Business Demography quarterly, Office for National StatisticsNotes:1.These are official statistics in development.2.*Quarters Q3 2024 to Q2 2025 are provisional and are subject to future revision.3.Data are rounded to the nearest five.4.Q1 is January to March, Q2 is April to June, Q3 is July to September and Q4 is October to December.
- Office for National Statistics. Business closures are a proxy for the number of businesses closed down. Business closures are measured as businesses removed from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. A business is removed from the IDBR if its turnover and employment are zero for several periods, or if the ONS is notified that the business has ceased trading through an administrative or survey source.Note that the annual publication does not include data for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector. However, business closures for the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing sector are included as part of the quarterly ONS Business Demography series – these data for Scotland are provided in table 1. We don’t have access to disaggregated quarterly data for the agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors separately.It is important to note that the quarterly ONS Business Demography series is classed as official statistics in development. Official statistics in development are official statistics that are in the testing phase and are not yet fully developed, and will potentially have a wider degree of uncertainty. In particular, the last four quarters of the ONS series are provisional and are subject to future revision. Revisions can arise due to business reactivations as later information on business turnover or employment is received.Table 1: Business Closures – Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing – ScotlandQuarterAgriculture,Forestry andFishingQ1 2017185Q2 2017180Q3 2017155Q4 2017125Q1 2018180Q2 2018190Q3 2018130Q4 2018180Q1 2019140Q2 2019270Q3 2019195Q4 2019170Q1 2020200Q2 2020200Q3 2020155Q4 2020175Q1 2021170Q2 2021195Q3 2021185Q4 2021190Q1 2022235Q2 2022280Q3 2022205Q4 2022210Q1 2023230Q2 2023225Q3 2023220Q4 2023160Q1 2024185Q2 2024195 Q3 2024*230Q4 2024*225Q1 2025*205Q2 2025*275Source: Business Demography quarterly, Office for National StatisticsNotes:1.These are official statistics in development.2.*Quarters Q3 2024 to Q2 2025 are provisional and are subject to future revision.3.Data are rounded to the nearest five.4.Q1 is January to March, Q2 is April to June, Q3 is July to September and Q4 is October to December.
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S6W-39554 by reference.