§ Mr. Wm. Rossasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what has been the total cost of the administration of the registration of companies in Northern Ireland and in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and what useful function the re-registration of companies serves.
§ Mr. Giles Shaw[pursuant to his reply, 19 February 1980, c. l84]: The costs have been estimated as follows:
Year Amount 1976–77 £130,000 1977–78 £137,000 1978–79 £144,000 A company is not required to reregister annually, but it is required, under existing legislation, to furnish an annual return detailing the current capital structure, the names of the directors, secretary and members of the company.
290WIn so far as registration confers limited liability on the members of the company, it is important for creditors and others to have access to the information in the annual returns. In fact, over 17,000 inspections of company files have been made in the last year.