FOI release

FOI22/23-151 - Request relating specifically to house builders

Updated 30 May 2023

Our ref: FOI22/23-151

Date: 17 March 2023

Re: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request

Thank you for your email of 23 February in which you requested from the Insolvency Service:

“I wanted to make an FOI request relating specifically to house builders (those that construct new homes). Could you provide the number of insolvencies for businesses that fit into this category for:

• The years 2020/21 and 21/22
• Could you also provide your definition of what this category is – for example is it only primary developers or would it include sub-contractors working on new builds.”

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 two tables at Annex A.

• Table 1 shows the number of company insolvencies for SIC code 41202 for England and Wales.
• Table 2 contains the number of company insolvencies for SIC code 41202 for Scotland.

The ONS definition of what this category is can be found below:

41202: Construction of domestic buildings

This sub-class includes:

• construction of all types of residential buildings:
  • single-family houses
  • multi-family buildings, including high-rise buildings
  • housing association and local authority housing
• remodelling or renovating existing residential structures

This sub-class excludes:

• architectural and engineering activities, see 71.1
• project management for construction, see 71.1

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 based on 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 equal the sum of the monthly numbers separately presented in the Monthly Insolvency Statistics. Data used to compile both reports were extracted at different times of the month, and some of the methodology used to compile the monthly statistics differ. Full details of the differing methodology can be found within the Quarterly Statistics Methodology and Quality document. Numbers may also differ from the previously published ad-hoc release, as methodology changes have made it possible to assign some cases previously in the ‘unknown’ category to a five-digit SIC code. Totals may also have changed slightly as a result of changes to the process of duplicate removal.

These statistics may also 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 [email protected] 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