Non-financial business economy, UK (Annual Business Survey): 2012 regional results

• In 2012, the income generated by local activity of businesses in the UK, less the cost of goods and services used to create this income, was estimated to be £935.7 billion. This amount represents the approximate Gross Value Added at basic prices (aGVA) by local activity of the businesses in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy

• Between 2011 and 2012, aGVA increased by 2.0% (£18.5 billion). This increase is a continuation of the recovery seen between 2009 and 2011 and takes aGVA to a level 2.9% (£26.8 billion) above that seen in 2008, at the start of the recession

• Two-thirds of the UK regions saw growth in aGVA between 2011 and 2012, with the highest contribution to overall growth from the South East, the East Midlands and London. The sub-national picture remains mixed, with only 7 of the 12 regions having aGVA above 2008 levels

• London, despite a third consecutive year of growth in aGVA, has yet to return to its 2008 level. London’s aGVA increased by 1.5% (£3.1 billion) between 2011 and 2012, with growth in the Non-Financial Service sector of 4.2% (£6.5 billion) being partially offset by a fall in aGVA within the Distribution sector of 15.3% (£3.5 billion)

• The aGVA for the South East increased by 10.8% (£8.7 billion) between 2011 and 2012, the largest annual growth of any region over this period. The level of aGVA is now 10.0% (£13.8 billion) above its 2008 level, driven by growth in the Non-Financial Service sector which increased by 22.4% (£16.4 billion) between 2008 and 2012

• Data for the Insurance & reinsurance industries have been removed from this release following discussions with key users. This experimental series was previously included in the regional results for reference years 2008 to 2011 and covered a small part of the Financial and insurance sector. It has been removed due to ongoing volatility while a more detailed quality assessment is undertaken. As such, results in this release cover the UK Non-Financial Business Economy rather than the UK Business Economy. This does not affect other industries

Estimates of the size and growth of the UK Non-Financial Business Economy, based on the local activity of businesses as measured by the Annual Business Survey (ABS), are presented in this release. It is the key resource for understanding the detailed structure, conduct and performance of businesses across the UK at a regional level. The release covers:

• non-Financial Services (includes professional, scientific, communication, administrative, transport, accommodation and food, private health and education, and entertainment services)

• distribution (includes retail, wholesale and motor trades)

• production (includes manufacturing, oil and gas extraction, and energy generation and supply)

• construction

• parts of Agriculture (includes agricultural support services, forestry and fishing)

Together these industries represent the UK Non-Financial Business Economy and account for around two-thirds of the whole economy of the UK in terms of Gross Value Added. Public administration and defence, public sector health and education, finance and parts of agriculture make up the difference between the UK Non-Financial Business Economy and the whole economy.

Regional ABS estimates are produced by apportioning the survey return from each enterprise to its individual sites, with these then being summed to the regional level. For the national ABS results, industry breakdowns are obtained by classifying enterprises to industries. For the regional ABS results, this classification is done for individual sites, so industry breakdowns at the UK level in the national release will not necessarily match those in the corresponding regional release. For example an enterprise contributing wholly to Production at the national level may have local units contributing to other sectors (e.g. Wholesale) at the regional level. More information can be found under Regional apportionment in background note 9 of this release.

The ABS has included estimates for the Insurance & reinsurance industries (SIC 2007 Groups 65.1 and 65.2 respectively) in its UK Regional releases since 2008. This is the only part of Financial and Insurance Activities (Section K) covered by the survey. As with any new time-series, estimates for these industries have remained experimental while ongoing quality assurance has taken place. This quality assurance has led the figures to be revised substantially in recent years with a resulting break in the series between 2009 and 2010. Due to ongoing volatility the estimates for this series have been removed from this release to allow for a more detailed quality assessment to be undertaken. The removal of these series does not affect other industries published as part of this release and has no impact on any other financial statistics published by ONS.

Although the estimated total for the UK Business Economy in the regional ABS results is constrained to equal that in the corresponding national ABS results, the published totals for the UK Non-Financial Business Economy will not now be the same following the removal of data for the Insurance & reinsurance industries (Groups 65.1 and 65.2) from the regional results after apportionment has taken place.

As a result, an enterprise contributing wholly to Insurance & reinsurance at the national level (and therefore removed from the national totals) may have local sites in other industries which will still contribute to the regional totals. Likewise, an enterprise contributing wholly to the Distribution sector (and therefore included in the national totals) may have a local site in Insurance & reinsurance whose contribution will be removed from the regional totals.

Estimates published in this release include turnover, purchases, approximate Gross Value Added at basic prices (aGVA) and employment costs. All data are reported at current prices (effect of price changes included).

Where the recession is mentioned it refers to the contraction of GDP that started in 2008, the year from which a consistent ABS time series is available. For more information about the survey see the background notes.

The ABS has a wide range of uses: for example, ABS statistics are essential contributors to the UK National and Regional Accounts, including the measurement of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), they are supplied to Eurostat to meet the requirements of the European Structural Business Statistics (SBS) Regulation, and are used by the devolved administrations and central and local government to monitor and inform policy development. For other uses see background note 4.

Questions often asked of the ABS release are ‘What is aGVA’ and ‘How does the measure of aGVA differ from the GVA measure in the National and Regional Accounts?’ For an overview of aGVA please see our new infographic on ‘What is aGVA?’. National Accounts carry out coverage adjustments, conceptual adjustments and coherence adjustments, in turn these estimates are used in the Regional Accounts. The National and Regional Accounts estimate of GVA uses input from a number of sources, and covers the whole UK economy, whereas ABS does not include farming, financial or public sectors. ABS total aGVA is around two-thirds of the National Accounts whole economy GVA because of these differences. For further information on aGVA, see background note 9. There is also a more detailed article ‘ A Comparison between ABS and National Accounts Measures of Value Added (462.3 Kb Pdf)’ available on the ABS webpages.

ONS makes every effort to provide informative commentary on the data in this release. Where possible, the commentary draws on evidence from businesses or other sources of information to help explain possible reasons behind the observed changes. However, it is difficult for businesses to provide detailed reasons for movements which are specific to a region, for example, businesses may state a ‘change in the nature of business activity across all sites’. Consequently, it is not possible for all data movements to be fully explained at a regional level. Users may benefit from reading the commentary in this release in conjunction with that in the ABS UK Non-Financial Business Economy, 2012 Revised Results (national level) release, published on 12 June 2014. As the ABS regional estimates are produced by apportionment of the national results to a local level, all industry information noted in the National release will apply.

We constantly aim to improve this release and its associated commentary. We would welcome any feedback you might have, and would be particularly interested in knowing how you make use of these data to inform your work. Please contact us via email: abs@ons.gov.uk or telephone Daniel Ayoubkhani on +44 (0)1633 456391.

A mapping tool is available for viewing these results, by region and the UK as a whole. The mapping tool can be used to illustrate how aGVA, turnover, purchases and employment costs have changed across the regions from 2008 to 2012, as well as enabling comparisons with other regions.

In 2012, the income generated by local activity of Non-Financial businesses in the UK, less the cost of goods and services used to create this income, was estimated to be £935.7 billion. This amount represents the approximate Gross Value Added at basic prices (aGVA) of the UK Non-Financial Business Economy at a local activity level. Between 2011 and 2012 aGVA increased by 2.0% (£18.5 billion); a continuation of the recovery seen between 2009 and 2011 although at a slower rate. This increase resulted in aGVA being above the level seen at the start of the recession, in 2008, for the second consecutive year.

The main drivers of aGVA are:

1. turnover (the main component of income)

2. purchases (the main component of the consumed goods and services)

The consecutive annual increases seen in aGVA are a result of similar consecutive increases in both turnover and purchases. Turnover increased by 2.3% (£73.9 billion) between 2011 and 2012, while purchases of goods, materials and services increased at a lower rate of 1.9% (£44.9 billion), resulting in an aGVA growth rate that was slightly lower than that for turnover. As with aGVA, turnover and purchases were above levels seen in 2008, at the start of the recession, for the second consecutive year.

The recession and recovery described by the ABS between 2008 and 2012 is broadly in line with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures published in the National Accounts. Both the ABS aGVA estimates and the National Accounts GDP estimates show a fall between 2008 and 2009 and then three consecutive annual increases from 2009 to 2012.

The Non-Financial Service sector, the largest broad industry group, contributed most to overall growth. Non-Financial Service sector aGVA rose by £27.4 billion (5.6%) between 2011 and 2012, the third consecutive annual increase taking it to £513.5 billion, which is above the level seen in 2008 (see Figure 1).

Due to the need to balance timeliness of the data with the accuracy, in-line with the ABS Revisions Policy, 2011 ABS regional results were published in July 2013 with further quality assurance then leading to planned revisions to the data in this release.

These revisions usually arise from the receipt of additional data and the correction of existing data by businesses responding to the ABS, which may include restructures that can result in data being reallocated to a different industry.

At the UK level, aGVA generated by local activity of businesses in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy for 2011 was revised downwards by 2.2% (£20.7 billion). The downward revision has been spread across all 12 regions following continued quality assurance of the data.

A list of industries which are included in the ABS measure of the UK Non-Financial Business Economy, can be found in background note 9.

Figure 1: UK Non-Financial Business Economy, local level aGVA by sector, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. Approximate GVA for the UK Non-Financial Business Economy in the regional release is different to that published in the national release (June 2014). More information can be found in background note 9

The industrial composition of regions in the UK varies considerably (see Figure 2). Wales and Scotland show a similar contribution to their aGVA from both the Non-Financial Service and Production sectors (each around two-fifths of their respective aGVAs in 2012) while other regions such as London have a dominant Non-Financial Service sector (around three-quarters of its aGVA in 2012) with a smaller share of value added being generated from Production and other sectors.

Figure 2: UK non-financial business economy, local level aGVA, industrial composition by region/country, 2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

The largest three regions in terms of total aGVA were London, the South East and the North West, together contributing just under half of total aGVA in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: UK non-financial business economy, local level aGVA by region/country, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Of the 12 regions, 8 saw growth in aGVA between 2011 and 2012, with the South East, the East Midlands and London contributing most to overall growth between 2011 and 2012 (see Figure 4).

Five regions saw a third consecutive year of growth in 2012, following falls between 2008 and 2009. Despite this, the sub-national picture remains mixed with aGVA in five of the regions remaining below levels seen in 2008, at the start of the recession.

Regional summaries (in order of size of the change in aGVA between 2011 and 2012)

South East

The South East contributed the most to aGVA growth in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy between 2011 and 2012, increasing by £9.2 billion (6.5%) (see Figure 4). Growth was dominated by the Non-Financial Service sector (Sections H-S), the South East’s largest industry group in terms of aGVA, contributing £8.7 billion to the region’s total aGVA growth (a rise of 10.8%).The two main drivers within the Non-Financial Service sector were Professional, scientific & technical activities (Section M) and Administration & support service activities (Section N).

This is the third consecutive year of aGVA growth for the South East, with the region making the largest contribution to national aGVA growth between 2008 and 2012, a rise of £13.8 billion.

East Midlands

The East Midlands made the second largest contribution to aGVA growth in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy between 2011 and 2012, increasing by £4.5 billion (8.3%). This was driven by its Production sector (Sections B-E) which contributed £2.7 billion to the region’s total aGVA growth (a rise of 15.6%). The largest increase was in Manufacturing (Section C).

This was the third consecutive year of positive aGVA growth for the East Midlands, with the annual growth in aGVA standing at over £4.5 billion in both 2011 and 2012. The latest increase means that aGVA in the East Midlands has grown by £7.4 billion (14.3%) over the level recorded in 2008 at the start of the recession, the second largest contribution to growth of all 12 regions.

London

London’s aGVA grew by £3.1 billion (1.5%) between 2011 and 2012. This was led by the Non-Financial Service sector (Sections H-S) which contributed £6.5 billion (a rise of 4.2%). The two main sector drivers were Professional, scientific & technical activities (Section M) and Administration & support service activities (Section N).

Approximate GVA for the Distribution sector (Section G) continues to decrease in the region in 2012, the fourth consecutive fall since the level recorded in 2008, at the start of the recession. The fall in aGVA for this sector has offset the large growth seen in the Non-Financial Service sector (Sections H-S), making London the third largest region in terms of contribution to growth in the UK Non-Financial Business Economy between 2011 and 2012.

Scotland

Scotland has shown the largest fall in aGVA (£2.8 billion) between 2011 and 2012 following an increase recorded between 2010 and 2011. The rise between 2010 and 2011 and the fall between 2011 and 2012 are driven by the Production sector (Sections B-E) and the Distribution sector (Section G) in Scotland, although the change without industry restructures and reclassifications would have been less pronounced (see Structural Changes to Businesses in background note 9).

Approximate aGVA in Scotland for the Non-Financial Service sector (Sections H-S) increased by £2.7 billion (8.7%) between 2011 and 2012, the second consecutive increase. Despite the positive movement in this sector, overall aGVA for Scotland has yet to return to a level above that recorded at the start of the recession.

Between 2011 and 2012, turnover in the Non-Financial Service sector increased at a greater rate than purchases (4.7% and 2.7% respectively). This was the main driver in the resulting aGVA increase of 5.6% (£27.4 billion). For further details on the components of aGVA see Calculation of Gross Value Added estimates in background note 9.

This was the third consecutive annual increase in aGVA, with the 5.6% growth rate the same as the previous period. This is the only sector where aGVA in 2012 was above the level seen at the start of the recession.

The largest contribution to the growth between 2011 and 2012 came from Professional, scientific & professional services (Section M) which increased by £9.9 billion, an 8.0% increase for the section.

London and the South East made the largest contribution to aGVA in the Non-Financial Service sector in 2012 (see Figure 5).

Finance & insurance (section K)

The ABS has included estimates for the Insurance & reinsurance industries (SIC 2007 Groups 65.1 and 65.2 respectively) in its UK Regional releases since 2008. This is the only part of Financial and insurance activities (Section K) covered by the survey. As with any new time-series, estimates for these industries have remained experimental while ongoing quality assurance has taken place. This quality assurance has led the figure to be revised substantially in recent years with a resulting break in the series between 2009 and 2010. Due to ongoing volatility the estimates for this series have been removed to allow for a more detailed quality assessment to be undertaken. The removal of these series does not affect other industries published as part of this release and has no impact on any other financial statistics published by ONS.

Figure 5: Non-financial service industries, local level aGVA by region/country, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. Excludes Financial and insurance; Public administration and defence; Public provision of Education; Public provision of Health and all medical and dental practice activities.

All regions other than Northern Ireland saw increases in aGVA in the Non-Financial Service sector between 2011 and 2012, with the South East, London and Scotland making the largest contributions to aGVA growth (see Figure 6).

South East

The South East made the largest contribution to growth in aGVA in the Non-Financial Service sector between 2011 and 2012, contributing £8.7 billion, a rise of 10.8% for the region. This is the fourth consecutive annual increase in aGVA, with the growth rate between 2011 and 2012 higher than in previous periods.

The three main sector drivers of growth between 2011 and 2012 were Professional, scientific & technical activities (Section M), Administration & support service activities (Section N) and Information & communication (Section J), contributing £3.6, £2.3 and £1.8 billion respectively to the increase in the South East’s aGVA.

The increase within Professional, scientific & technical activities was driven by Scientific research & development (Division 72), Activities of head offices; management consultant activities (Division 70) and Legal & accounting activities (Division 69).

For Administration & support service activities the drivers were Office administrative, office support & other business support activities (Division 82) and Rental & leasing activities (Division 77), where general increases in business activity were reported. Employment activities (Division 78) also contributed to the sector rise, which may be a result of businesses being more likely to recruit temporary rather than permanent staff as a result of continued economic uncertainty.

The increase in Information & communication activities was driven by Computer programming, consultancy & related activities (Division 62).

London

London made the second largest contribution to growth in the Non-Financial Service sector between 2011 and 2012, contributing £6.5 billion to the total aGVA increase, a rise of 4.2% for the region.

In London, the Non-Financial Service sector has recorded three consecutive years of annual growth above the level recorded in 2008 and continues to be both the dominant sector in terms of total aGVA contribution and growth in the region.

As in the South East, the three main sector drivers of growth in the Non-Financial Service sector between 2011 and 2012 were Professional, scientific & technical activities (Section M), Administration & support service activities (Section N) and Information & communication (Section J), contributing £4.2, £2.1 and £1.7 billion respectively to the increase in London’s aGVA.

Scotland

Scotland contributed £2.7 billion to total aGVA growth in the Non-Financial Service sector between 2011 and 2012 (a rise of 8.7% for the region). It is the only sector to record growth between 2011 and 2012 in the region, a different picture than between 2010 and 2011 where three of the five broad industry sectors recorded growth.

The Non-Financial Service sector’s growth in aGVA in Scotland was apparent for all but one industrial section, but was driven by the increase in Professional, scientific & technical activities (Section M), which accounted for over a third of the total growth in the sector.

The largest increase in aGVA within Professional, scientific & technical activities was seen in Architectural & engineering activities; technical testing & analysis (Division 71) which increased by £0.5 billion (a 13.6% increase for the region) following a fall in the previous period. Businesses have reported that their project based activities commonly produce volatility in profit for the industry.

Both turnover and purchases in the Production sector have decreased between 2011 and 2012 (0.8% and 0.9% respectively). These are the main components in the resulting fall in aGVA of 0.7% (£1.4 billion). For further details on the components of aGVA see Calculation of Gross Value Added Estimates in background note 9.

The rate at which aGVA has fallen between 2011 and 2012 is relatively small when compared to the growth rates recorded for the sector over the two previous periods (5.9% between 2009 and 2010 and 4.8% between 2010 and 2011). The level of aGVA remains below the level recorded at the start of the recession.

The decline in aGVA between 2011 and 2012 was driven by Mining & quarrying (Section B) which decreased by £5.3 billion, a 17.0% decrease for the section. At the local unit level this is the only section within Production that has declined between 2011 and 2012. This large decrease has been offset by increases in all other sections within Production, with Manufacturing (Section C) and Energy generation & supply (Section D) increasing by £2.5 billion and £1.4 billion respectively.

At the regional level the largest contributions to Production sector aGVA in 2012 were in Scotland, the North West and the South East (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: Production industries, local level aGVA by region/country, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. Across the Production sector many divisions have been affected by a trend amongst multinational companies towards restructuring on an international basis. This type of restructuring has caused companies to be classified under different sectors to those they have historically occupied, with movements from traditional production industries towards wholesalers and toll processors. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons over time.

In the Production sector there are an equal number of regions showing growth as those showing a fall in aGVA between 2011 and 2012. Scotland shows the largest decrease with the East Midlands showing the largest growth over the period (see Figure 8).

Across the Production sector many divisions have been affected by a trend amongst multinational companies towards restructuring on an international basis. Such restructuring has caused companies to be classified under different sectors to those they have historically occupied, with movements from traditional production industries towards wholesalers and toll processors. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons over time.

Scotland

Scotland contributed £3.2 billion to the total aGVA decrease in the Production sector between 2011 and 2012, a fall of 8.6% for the region. Following two consecutive years of growth, the decline in 2012 has returned aGVA to a level just above that reported in 2009 and it continues to remain below the recorded at the start of the recession.

The aGVA decrease is dominated by the fall seen in Mining & quarrying (Section B), driven by Extraction of crude petroleum & natural gas (Division 06). This division contributed £4.4 billion to the decrease in aGVA, a fall of 23.8% for the region between 2011 and 2012. This followed two consecutive periods of annual growth between 2009 and 2010 and between 2010 and 2011. Businesses have reported the volatility of oil prices and associated stock levels as the main factor in both the growth and decline shown over time. Prolonged periods of maintenance to offshore oil rigs may have also contributed to the more recent decline.

Turnover in the Distribution sector increased more slowly than purchases between 2011 and 2012 (2.2% compared with 2.9%). Additionally, the sector recorded a reduction in stocks and an increase in taxes which together have combined to decrease aGVA by 6.4% (£9.4 billion) over the period. For further details on the components of aGVA see Calculation of Gross Value Added Estimates in background note 9.

The £9.4 billion fall in aGVA between 2011 and 2012 is a continuation of the decline shown in this sector since the start of the recession in 2008. At 6.4%, the rate of the decrease is greater than that recorded between both 2009 and 2010 (0.4%) and 2010 and 2011 (1.3%).

Wholesale (excluding Motor trades) (Division 46) dominated the decrease in aGVA within the sector, contributing £8.7 billion to the fall (a 15.1% decrease for the industry). Performance for this industry group is volatile as it is heavily influenced by changes in oil prices. The high oil prices in 2011 have continued into 2012 and wholesalers may have been reluctant to pass the higher prices onto their customers.

At the regional level, the South East and London made the largest contribution to Distribution sector aGVA in 2012 (see Figure 9).

Figure 9: Distribution industries, local level aGVA by region/country, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. Across the Distribution sector some divisions have been affected by a trend amongst multinational companies towards restructuring on an international basis. This type of restructuring has caused companies to be classified under different sectors to those they have historically occupied, with movements from traditional production industries towards wholesalers and toll processors. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons over time.

Of the 12 regions, 9 saw a fall in aGVA in the Distribution sector between 2011 and 2012, with the largest contributions to the UK decrease coming from London, Scotland and the East of England (see Figure 10). The wholesale industry has driven the decrease in aGVA within these regions, although the change without industry restructures and reclassifications would have been less pronounced.

Across the Distribution sector some divisions have been affected by a trend amongst multinational companies towards restructuring on an international basis. Such restructuring has caused companies to be classified under different sectors to those they have historically occupied, with movements from traditional production industries towards wholesalers and toll processors. Therefore care should be taken when making comparisons over time.

London

London contributed £3.5 billion to the total fall in aGVA in the Distribution sector between 2011 and 2012, a 15.3% decrease for the region. This is a continuation of the decline in this sector, with aGVA in 2012 being £17.1 billion below that in 2008. Wholesale (excluding Motor trades) (Division 46) contributed £3.3 billion to the decline in London, a fall of 34.1% for the region, where some industry restructuring has partly contributed to the decrease.

Scotland

Scotland contributed £2.2 billion to the total fall in aGVA in the Distribution sector between 2011 and 2012, a fall of 19.0% for the region. Despite growth in aGVA between 2010 and 2011, the fall between 2011 and 2012 sees the region below the level in 2008, at the start of the recession. Wholesale (excluding Motor trades) (Division 46) contributed £1.7 billion to the decline in Scotland, a fall of 47.1% for the region, although the change without industry restructures and reclassifications would have been less pronounced.

East of England

The East of England contributed £1.6 billion to the total fall in aGVA in the Distribution sector between 2011 and 2012, a fall of 11.6% for the region. This decrease is a continuation of the decline in this sector, with aGVA in 2012 being well below its 2008 level. Wholesale (excluding Motor trades) (Division 46) contributed £1.0 billion to the region’s decline, a fall of 18.5%, with industry restructuring again playing a substantial part in the change.

Turnover in the Construction sector increased by 1.1% between 2011 and 2012, while purchases decreased by 0.3% over the same period. Together with changes in stocks and taxes, these have combined to increase aGVA by 2.6% (£1.8 billion) over the period. For further details on the components of aGVA see Calculation of Gross Value Added Estimates in background note 9.

Although this is the second consecutive year of aGVA growth for the sector following two years of decline, aGVA has yet to return to its 2008 level of £81.0 billion at the start of the recession.

The increase in aGVA was led by Construction of buildings (Division 41), contributing £1.9 billion to the overall aGVA growth in the sector, a 7.9% increase for the industry.

At the regional level, London, the South East, the East of England and the North West made the largest contributions to aGVA in the Construction sector in 2012 (see Figure 11).

Figure 11: Construction industries, local level aGVA by region/country, 2008-2012

Source: Office for National Statistics

Of the 12 regions, 7 saw increases in aGVA in the Construction sector between 2011 and 2012. The largest increases were in London (£0.8 billion) and the North East (£0.6 billion) (see Figure 12). In both of these regions growth was led by increases in Construction of buildings (Division 41).

The ABS covers only hunting, forestry, fishing and the support activities to agriculture. Commentary is therefore limited because the sector’s size in terms of economic output, as measured by the ABS, is small in comparison to the other sectors of the UK Non-Financial Business Economy. However, data for these parts of Section A can be found in the reference tables linked to this bulletin.

The other parts of agriculture, which include crop and animal production, are covered by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

Note that the values quoted here for Section A are in £ millions.

The part of Section A covered at ABS local level showed rises in turnover of 16.4% (£474 million) between 2011 and 2012 and purchases of 30.1% (£526 million). This led to a small decrease in aGVA of 0.6% (£7 million), with aGVA remaining lower than the level in 2008, at the start of the recession.

Validation of data returns for 2011 highlighted a small number of businesses within agriculture (Division 01) which needed to be reclassified resulting in revisions to the 2010 and 2011 figures. In line with the ABS revisions policy previous years (2008 and 2009) have not been revised and users should therefore take caution when comparing figures over time.