§ Mr. St. John-Stevasasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many companies are prosecuted each year under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 for failing to provide information for the annual census of production.
§ Mr. Butcher:The information requested is given as follows.
The number of companies prosecuted each year under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947 for failing to provide information for the annual census of production is:
Annual census of production prosecutions Year of census Number of companies prosecuted 1970 Nil 1971 Nil 1972 2 1973 9 1974 Nil 1975 Nil 1976 Nil 1977 Nil 1978 9 1979 2 1980 6 1981 *11 *Summons applied for but cases not yet heard.