§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list the number and qualifications of the inspectors engaged on the inquiry, the number and grades of staff assisting the inspectors and the percentage of their normal working time being spent by each in all current inquiries established by him under the Companies Acts or in relation to insider dealing.
§ Mr. HowardThe total number of inspectors engaged on inquiries under the Companies Act or in relation to insider dealings is 42, including 20 specialist departmental officers engaged full-time on confidential inquiries under section 447 of the Companies Act. Of the other 22, 11 are lawyers, seven are accountants, and the other four have extensive experience relevant to the matter under investigation. I regret that information about the percentage of normal working time spent on the inquiries by each inspector could be provided only at disproportionate cost and by diverting effort from the investigations themselves. Inspectors are well aware of the importance of completing their investigations as rapidly as possible.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 21 January, Official Report, column 583, about civil servants in the Office of Fair Trading, what action was taken by the junior official referred to; and how many Office of Fair Trading and Monopolies and Mergers Commission investigations were involved.
§ Mr. HowardI could not answer the first part of the question without risking prejudice to the investigation and to any criminal proceedings which might result.
As regards the second part, the inspectors' inquiries are continuing. They are empowered to investigate any possible contravention of the Company Securities (Insider Dealing) Act involving information relating to the exercise of the functions of the Director General, the Commission or the Secretary of State in relation to merger situations under the Fair Trading Act.