55. Dr. VERNON DAVIESasked the President of the Board of Trade what is the specific difficulty which prevents the Board of Trade obtaining from 330 public companies punctual compliance with the Act of Parliament which requires the filing of annual accounts and balance sheets; whether it is shortage of staff or a flaw in the wording of the statutory regulations under the Act or inadequate powers under the Act; and will he take steps to arrange that in future numbers of public companies are not five months in default?
§ Mr. W. GRAHAMI would refer the hon. Member to the full answer which I gave on 6th May to the questions asked on this subject by the hon. Member for Ilford (Sir G. Hamilton) and the hon. and learned Member for East Grinstead (Sir H. Cautley).
Dr. DAVIESWill the right hon. Gentleman consult with his right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and ask him if he can spare a few of his Income Tax officials to carry on this work?
§ Mr. GRAHAMNo, that is not necessary at all. Within the past few weeks we have got the figure down to 330, and it is still falling.