§ Lord Bethellasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many building societies have been investigated under Section 110 of the Building Societies Act 1962 and whether they will set out the grounds on which inspectors were appointed in each case.
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§ The Minister of State, Treasury (Lord Cockfield)One. Inspectors were appointed into the affairs of the Grays Building Society in 1978. Inspectors were also appointed, in 1961, at the initiative of the chief registrar under a similar provision in the 1960 Act in the case of Lloyds Permanent Building Society. In both cases, the societies had got into serious financial difficulties and the chief registrar had used his powers to prevent their seeking further investments. In each case the appointment of an Inspector was thought to be in the public interest, both to establish the circumstances which had led to these difficulties and to bring out possible lessons for the future conduct and regulation of building societies.