Ward Level Counts
Counts of businesses for small areas from the IDBR
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces counts of businesses down to ward level in England and Wales. A snapshot of the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) is taken every March, and provides counts of Enterprises, and of Local Units, by Broad Industry Group, Employment Size Band, and Public/Private status. The Neighbourhood Statistics Service commissions this work, and the data tables, together with background information, can be downloaded free of charge from the NeSS website.
The data are an expansion of the local unit and enterprise data already produced and disseminated via the ONS publication UK Business: Activity, Size and Location (previously called PA1003 – Size Analysis of UK Businesses). This data is compiled from the IDBR, which contains information on VAT traders and PAYE employers in a statistical register comprising 2.1 million enterprises, representing nearly 99% of UK economic activity. Further details are available – please see ‘Related Links’ on the right-hand side.
The counts of businesses in local areas will be of interest to established users of the IDBR, but are also likely to be of value to many new users who are already focussed upon information at neighbourhood level. The ward definitions are the same as those used for 2001 Census Area Statistics (CAS), which makes it possible to relate the two datasets. Many users of the Census, and the increasing range of Neighbourhood Statistics, will be able to supplement their knowledge of local resident populations by exploring this new data for insights into local business activity, retail concentrations, and workplace populations.
For general IDBR queries and data available, please contact IDBR on 01633 813229 or e-mail idbr.helpdesk@ons.gov.uk
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Guide to IDBR