FOI REF: FOI/2023/5089
You asked
Requesting data on the below as per your latest records:
1. The number of restaurants in the UK broken down by district
2. The number of restaurants in the UK broken down by city
3. The number of new restaurants (2022 vs 2023) in the UK broken down by district
4. The number of new restaurants (2022 vs 2023) in the UK broken down by city
5. The number of restaurants in each district of the UK broken down by cuisine (e.g. Italian, Indian, etc.)
6. The number of restaurants in each city of the UK broken down by cuisine (e.g. Italian, Indian, etc.)
we said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information requesting the number of restaurants in the UK broken-down by geography and specific classification.
Questions 1 and 2:
For information, we produce an annual publication called UK Business: Activity, size and location. This publication breaks down the number of UK Businesses (registered for VAT and/or PAYE) by geography, employment size-band, industry and legal status. It is created using an extract of the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) taken on 11 March 2022.
The data you have requested using our UK Business: activity, size and location is available on Nomis web. The data are available from 2010 to 2022 and can be manipulated by classification, geographies, and size-bands. When using Nomis there are two options to select from, enterprises (business level) or local unit (site level). The lowest level of SIC available is 5 digit which can only be identified as SIC 56101 Licensed restaurants, SIC 56102 Unlicensed restaurants or SIC 56103 Take away food shops and mobile food stands.
As this information is reasonably accessible in the public domain, Section 21(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies.
Questions 3 and 4:
Available data for years up to and including 2022 can be found via the following link. UK Business: Activity, size and location.
The UK Business: activity, size and location data for 2023 will be published in September 2023.
As such, the data pertaining to 2023 is exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future.
As a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration, and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.
This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.
Questions 5 and 6:
The lowest level of data that we record would be the type of establishment e.g. Fast food take away. Unfortunately, we do not hold information about the type of cuisine served.
If you require any assistance in using Nomis please contact the IDBR data service team via idbrdas@ons.gov.uk.