FOI Ref: FOI/2023/4819
You asked
I'd like to request the following data:
1. Weekly data on public houses and bars, licensed clubs, licensed and unlicensed restaurants, takeaways and mobile food stands, from 2004 to 2019.
2. Weekly data on UK Spending on Catering Services using Debit and Credit Cards between 2004-2019
We said
Thank you for your request.
1. Weekly data on public houses and bars, licensed clubs, licensed and unlicensed restaurants, takeaways and mobile food stands, from 2004 to 2019
We produce an annual publication called Business Demography that measures both business births and business deaths. Data in the publication are taken from the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR) and consist of businesses registered with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for Value Added Tax (VAT) and/or Pay as You Earn (PAYE). The annual data has been produced back to 2009. Data prior to 2009 can be found here on the ONS archived website.
In addition to our annual Business Demography publication, we produce demography statistics on a quarterly basis. However, these data are experimental and are produced using alternative methodology and only backdate to 2017.
Weekly data on public houses and bars, licensed clubs, licensed and unlicensed restaurants, takeaways and mobile food stands from 2004 to 2019 specifically would need to be produced via our bespoke services route. Such services would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure controls, resources, and agreement of costs in line with our charging policy. If you would like to discuss the provision of this information, please contact our IDBR data service team via idbrdas@ons.gov.uk.
2. Weekly data on UK Spending on Catering Services using Debit and Credit Cards between 2004 to 2019
Unfortunately, we do not hold the data that you request about weekly spending. The Bank of England (BoE) provide us with this data aggregated into four broad consumption categories. The data you request would be a subset of one of the consumption categories and this is not provided to us by the BoE as this would exceed our current data sharing agreement held with the bank.
Therefore, the Bank of England may be better placed to provide you with this information. They can be contacted at Freedom of Information | Bank of England
However, we do produce a similar indicator on pubs, restaurants and fast food spending provided by Revolut (a UK Fintech company that issues payment cards) which may be of interest to you.
You may also find the Open Table industry report of interest.