§ 64. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will give, for the latest and most convenient stated date, the number of registered public and private companies there were falling within the control of the Companies Acts; how many of these were in arrears with the annual returns of their companies in accordance with the Companies Acts; and how these figures compare with the past two years.
§ Mr. NobleAt the end of 1971 there were 527,643 companies on the register, of which 15,452 were public and 512,191 were private companies. It would not be possible to answer the second part of the Question without disproportionate cost.