§ Mr. Spearingasked the Secretary of State for Energy what principal criteria he expects to use in determining whether a company with its head office or seat in another member State of the EEC is centrally managed and controlled in the United Kingdom for the purposes of issuing licences for the exploration and production of oil on the British Continental Shelf, when the legislation now before Parliament is enacted; and whether such criteria have been agreed with the EEC Commission.
§ Mr. John SmithThe question of whether a company is centrally managed and controlled in the United Kingdom is a matter to be determined by reference to the course of business and trading in the particular case.