FOI release

FOI22/23-034 - The monthly Insolvency Statistics of companies contains with table 2.1 a breakdown into different SIC Codes

Published 18 January 2023

Our ref: FOI22/23-034

Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request

Thank you for your email on 20 June in which you requested from the Insolvency Service:

“The monthly Insolvency Statistics of companies contains with table 2.1 a breakdown into different SIC Codes.

I was wondering whether the numbers for Travel Agencies and Tour Operators split into 7911 (travel agencies) and 7912 (tour operators) would be available. So far I could only find for the 791 aggregate..”

Your request has been dealt with under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).

I can confirm the agency holds the information that you have requested. I have provided a table at Annex A. The table shows the number of company insolvencies for SIC codes 7911 and 7912 for England and Wales.

Under section 16 of the Act (Advice and Assistance) you may find it useful to note:

Compulsory liquidations in England and Wales are sourced from a live administration system managed by the Insolvency Service. The registration date for these is the court order date. All other insolvency procedures are sourced from Companies House, with the registration date being the date that an insolvency was registered at Companies House. Industry breakdowns have been presented in line with the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC 2007). Compulsory liquidations data are recorded at a three-digit group level and not a five-digit class level. Where possible, this administrative data has been matched with Companies House data to produce a five-digit class level industry classification, but in some cases a five-digit class is not attainable.

Companies with multiple insolvency procedures are included multiple times to give a full record of all registered insolvencies. This means that there may be some duplicate company numbers. Administrations which have directly resulted in a creditors’ voluntary liquidation are included only as administrations. Similar information for administrations converting to a compulsory liquidation or to a company voluntary arrangement is not available so these are counted as both insolvency procedures.

These statistics may not align with information published separately by Companies House, or with data extracted from the Gazette. Further information on why numbers may not align can be found in the Quarterly Statistics Methodology and Quality document.

Please note FOIA only applies to recorded information, it does not require public authorities to answer a question unless recorded information exists. Therefore, to answer a request FOIA does not oblige a public authority to create information if the requested information is not held.

If you are not satisfied with the response we have provided you and would like us to reconsider our decision by way of an internal review (IR), please contact our Information Rights Team at foi@insolvency.gov.uk or by post at:

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service

3rd Floor

Cannon House

18 Priory Queensway

Birmingham

B4 6FD

United Kingdom

You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you wish for them to investigate any complaint you may have regarding our handling of your request. However, please note that the ICO is likely to expect an IR to have been completed in the first instance.

Yours sincerely,

Information Rights Team

The Insolvency Service