FOI reference: FOI-2026-3538
You asked
Under the Freedom of Information Act, please provide the following data for the UK for each year from 1989 (or the earliest year available) to the most recent year. For each of the following sectors, please provide:
Number of enterprises/businesses - Total turnover (where available) - Number of employees
Sectors:
- Retail sale by opticians (SIC 47782)
- Retail sale of hearing aids (SIC 47741)
- Dental practice activities (SIC 86230)
- General medical practice activities (private GPs – SIC 86210)
- Other human health activities (includes physiotherapy, podiatry – SIC 86900)
- Residential nursing care activities (SIC 87100)
- Other residential care activities (nursing homes – SIC 87300)
- Medical and dental diagnostic activities (includes private diagnostic centres)
We said
Thank you for your request.
Please see our response to each part of your request below.
Number of enterprises/businesses
Data on the count of UK enterprises are published in the UK Business: activity, size and location publication. The source of the data is the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) which contains all businesses registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay As You Earn (PAYE).
The easiest way to view the count data at 5-digit Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) level is to access it via NOMIS. You will need to choose the UK Business counts option and then choose either of the enterprise options. The data are available on NOMIS back to 2010. We do, however, hold data back to 2004 and this could be produced for you by our data analysis team.
Depending on the time needed to produce the request it could be chargeable. Please note that the data are only available by SIC 2007 back to 2007. For the years 2004 to 2006 you would need the SIC 2003 code. If you would like to discuss the request, please contact idbrdas@ons.gov.uk. As this information is reasonably accessible via another route, even if only accessible on payment, Section 21(2)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies.
Total turnover
Unfortunately, we do not hold information on total turnover at the 5-digit SIC level. To fulfil this request, we would need to undertake additional work as the ABS does not produce data at this level of granularity. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, public authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests.
However, the latest ABS publication could be found here Data related to Non-financial business economy, UK (Annual Business Survey): 2024 results. Here you can find data published by the Annual Business survey, broken down to 4 digit SIC level. Please note these data are only available back to 2008. Data from 1995 to 2007 are available from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI); however, please be aware that these figures are affected by changes to the SIC in 2003 and 2007 and not comparable to the latest ABS estimates.
Number of employees
Please note that data on employee numbers are available from the Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) for the period 2009 to 2024. Data for earlier years are available from the Annual Business Inquiry (ABI); however, users should be aware that these figures are affected by changes to the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) in 2003 and 2007.
The requested data for employee numbers within specific SIC sectors can be accessed via the NOMIS website. To obtain this information, please visit the NOMIS data downloads page, select BRES, and then choose the relevant industries and years required at UK level.