§ Mr. Ronnie CampbellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on current auditing procedures and practices in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonI refer the hon. Member to the first annual reports of the five recognised supervisory bodies and the Auditing Practices Board's first review of its activities, copies of which have been placed in the Library.
§ Mr. Ronnie CampbellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a Government regulatory body to ensure adequate standards of auditing and compliance to United Kingdom and European law by accounting practices operating in the United Kingdom.
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§ Mr. Neil HamiltonThe new regulatory regime for company auditors in part II of the Companies Act 1989, which came into force on 1 October 1991, places responsibility for the supervision of auditors upon the five recognised supervisory bodies. I have no plans to alter those arrangements.