§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will publish a list of the investigations carried out under the Insolvency Act 1986 and its predecessors; and how many reports have been published on these investigations.
§ Mr. RedwoodInvestigations under the Insolvency Act 1986 are carried out by official receivers in all cases where winding-up orders against companies or partnerships or bankruptcy orders against individuals have been made by a court.
Where official receivers' investigations reveal prima facie evidence of criminality they make reports which are considered by departmental solicitors who decide whether prosecution is appropriate. Such reports are not published.
Details of the reports submitted by official receivers alleging possible criminal offences are published in the 179W insolvency general annual report. For 1987, 1988 and 1989 the number of reports submitted was 499, 567 and 627 respectively.