§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what discussions his Department has had with Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise in relation to the levels of beneficial interest declared by local enterprise company directors in local enterprise company contracts; [1191]
(2) what information the directors of local enterprise companies are required to declare in relation to their interests in other enterprise companies; [1320]
(3) if he will instruct the chief executives of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise to carry out a study of the beneficial interests of local enterprise directors in other local enterprise companies for the purpose of ensuring that this information is publicly accountable; [1192]
(4) what studies his Department has carried out into the involvement of local enterprise company directors in the contracts awarded by local enterprise companies; [1190]
(5) what procedures are currently in place to ensure that the beneficial interests of the director of a local enterprise company in the contracts awarded by a different local enterprise company are open to public scrutiny; [1194]
(6) for what regions information is not currently delivered by directors of local enterprise companies in respect of their interest in other enterprise companies. [2148]
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§ Mr. Kynoch[holding answer 24 November 1995]: The local enterprise company operating contracts approved by the Scottish Office require local enterprise companies to have in place registers of directors' interests that are open to public inspection, procedures for avoiding conflicts of interest, and arrangements for publishing details in their annual reports of contracts in which directors have an interest.
The detailed procedures within this overall framework are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which the Department has discussed with them from time to time. Both the Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise networks have adopted procedures which ensure that the private interests of local enterprise company directors are declared and registered, and that directors do not take part in board decisions on matters in which they have an interest. Local enterprise company directors serve on the board of only one local enterprise company, in whose area they must live or work. They play no role in the decisions of any other local enterprise company board, so there is no conflict of interest if another board should take a decision affecting their private beneficial interests.