HC Deb 06 February 1978 vol 943 cc997-9
7. Mr. Canavan

asked the Secretary of State for Trade what representations he has received about the Green Paper on company reports, Command Paper No. 6888.

Mr. Clinton Davis

By Friday 3rd February my Department had received written comments from 86 organisations and individuals, representing a wide range of interests.

Mr. Canavan

Instead of giving in to pressures from the Stock Exchange, will the Government press ahead with new legislation to introduce a greater degree of public accountability for companies to prevent a repetition of public scandals, such as SUITS, whose ex-chairman has been trying to keep in with the Government by having lunch with the Chancellor of the Exchequer during his recent visit to Glasgow?

Mr. Davis

I thought that my hon. Friend would allude to SUITS. There is no question of the Government giving in to pressures from the Stock Exchange. The Green Paper on company reports, coupled with the White Paper on proposed changes in company law which we have put to the country, indicate the Government's thinking. I think that my hon. Friend would, by and large, support those proposals.

Mr. Tim Smith

Before the very wide-ranging proposals contained in the Green Paper are implemented, will the Government ensure that there is either a reclassification of companies or that small businesses are exempted from the requirements?

Mr. Davis

I cannot give such an undertaking, because the consultative process on which we have embarked has only recently concluded and we have not yet considered the totality of the views put to us. I suggested some little time ago the idea of a three-tier arrangement, which I thought had generally found favour, but the details remain to be worked out.

Mr. William Hamilton

Will my hon. Friend confirm or deny the report in The Guardian this morning that the CBI is opposed to the proposals in the Green Paper? Will he assure the House that, despite that opposition, the Government will insist on more disclosure of what companies are about since it is clear that their annual reports conceal more than they reveal? It is the democratic right of the public at large and of the workers within industries to have access to far more information than they have hitherto had.

Mr. Davis

The whole thrust of the Green Paper was designed to ensure that there would be greater accountability. I do not propose to comment on specific proposals, because we have not had sufficient opportunity to consider the views of those who put forward various recommendations and observations The CBI's views will certainly be given the attention that they deserve.