Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state, in respect of each of the years 1975–1984 inclusive:
- (a) the number of prosecutions initiated alleging contravention of Section 332(3) of the Companies Act 1948; and
- (b) the number of convictions eventuating from such prosecutions.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Elton)The information available to me, which may be incomplete, is given in the table below. From the information collected centrally, it is not possible to distinguish proceedings against Section 332(3) of the Companies Act. Information for 1984 is not yet available.
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DEFENDANTS PROCEEDED AGAINST AT MAGISTRATES' COURTS AND FOUND GUILTY AT ALL COURTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES OF OFFENCES CONTRARY TO SECTIONS 30(4), 44, 187, 188, 332 AND 367 OF THE COMPANIES ACT 1948 AND SECTIONS 1, 16(2) AND 22 OF THE PROTECTION OF DEPOSITORS ACT 1963. England and Wales Number of Defendants Year Proceeded against at magistrates' courts Total found guilty at all courts(1) 1976 13 — 1977(2) 2 22 1978(2) 4 26 1979 16 20 1980 22 38 1981 37 33 1982 40 41 1983 40 51 (1) Proceedings may not be completed in the same year they commenced and persons may be found guilty in the Crown Court of a different offence from which they were proceeded against in the magistrates' court. (2) Adjusted for the effects of the Criminal Law Act 1977 and the change in counting procedure—see paragraph 11–26 of Appendix 1 to Criminal Statistics, England and Wales, 1983 (Cmnd. 9349).
Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will state, in respect of each of the years 1975 to 1984 inclusive:
- (a) the number of prosecutions initiated alleging defaults by directors in respect of Section 147 of the Companies Act 1948 and, when repealed, under Section 12(10) of the Companies Act 1976; and
- (b) the number of convictions eventuating from such prosecutions.
§ Lord EltonThe information available to me, which may be incomplete, is given in the following table. The information collected centrally does not include the occupant ion of the defendant. Information for 1984 is not yet available.
DEFENDANTS PROCEEDED AGAINST AT MAGISTRATES' COURTS AND FOUND GUILTY AT ALL COURTS IN ENGLAND AND WALES OF OFFENCES CONTRARY TO SECTION 12(10) OF THE COMPANIES ACT 1976. England and Wales Number of Defendants Year Proceeded against at magistrates' courts Total found guilty at all courts(1) 1979 — — 1980 2 4 1981 6 5 1982 10 7 1983 18 15 (1) Proceedings may not be completed in the same year they commenced and persons may be found guilty in the Crown Court of a different offence from which they were proceeded against in the magistrates' court.