FOI reference: FOI-2026-3572
You asked
I am writing to request data from the Annual Business Survey (ABS) and its predecessor, the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI). I would like to receive the information by email in CSV or Excel format.
I am requesting three separate datasets, each covering a distinct time period and SIC classification:
Request 1 — ABS (SIC 2007), 2008 to 2023 or the latest published year at the time of response
Annual data for the following five-digit SIC 2007 subclasses, broken down by ITL1 region (formerly NUTS1):
- 69201: Accounting and auditing activities
- 69202: Bookkeeping activities
- 69203: Tax consultancy
Metrics requested: turnover, approximate GVA at basic prices (aGVA), purchases, and number of businesses.
Request 2 — ABI (SIC 2003), 2003 to 2007
Annual data for the following five-digit SIC 2003 subclasses, broken down by ITL1 region (formerly NUTS1):
- 74.12/1: Accounting and auditing activities
- 74.12/2: Book-keeping activities
- 74.12/3: Tax consultancy
If data at this level of granularity is not available, I would accept the data at the four-digit class level (74.12: Accounting, book-keeping and auditing activities; tax consultancy).
Metrics requested: turnover, aGVA (where available), purchases (where available), and number of businesses.
Request 3 — ABI (SIC 1992), 1998 to 2002
Annual data for the following four-digit SIC 1992 class, broken down by ITL1 region (formerly NUTS1):
- 7412: Accounting, auditing and book-keeping activities
Metrics requested: turnover, aGVA (where available), purchases (where available), and number of businesses.
I understand that classification breaks exist between the three datasets and will treat them as separate series with appropriate caveats. I also understand that some cells may be suppressed for disclosure control purposes.
We said
Thank you for your request.
Unfortunately, we do not hold information on the metric requested at the five-digit SIC level in a recorded form. To fulfil this request, we would need to create new information, which we are not obliged to do under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA).
However, you may be interested in the latest ABS estimates. Here you can find data published by the Annual Business Survey regional estimates, broken down to two-digit SIC level. Please note these data are only available back to 2008. Data from 1998 to 2007 are available from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI); however, please be aware that these figures are affected by changes to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) in 2003 and 2007 and are not comparable with the latest ABS estimates.