§ Sir J. POWERasked the President of the Board of Trade the number of companies which defaulted under Sub-section (1) of Section 112 of the Companies Act, 1929, in the calendar years 1933, 1934, and 1935; the number of prosecutions made under Sub-section (2) for the same years; and the amount of fines inflicted as a result of such prosecutions?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANDuring 1933, 226 public companies registered under the Companies Act, 1929, failed to hold a General Meeting in strict accordance with the provisions of Section 112 of the Act. One company was prosecuted and two of its directors were fined £50 each. During 1934, 248 public companies similarly failed to comply with the Section and a prosecution is pending in one case. Complete particulars for 1935 are not yet available. It should be observed that in most cases the default is only nominal as the above figures include a considerable number of companies which are moribund, are public companies in name only (i.e. companies where the shareholders are few) or have issued only the seven signatories' shares and have done no business. The figures further include companies which have held their meeting early in the year following that in which it should strictly have been held. Particulars with regard to private companies are not available.