§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies have been prosecuted in the last three years arising out of Department of Trade investigations; and what that number represents as a total of all the investigations by the department.
§ Mr. Clinton Davis,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 3rd November 1975; Vol. 899, col. 69], gave the following reply:—
I have circulated the following information, so far as it can be ascertained, as to the prosecutions instituted either by the Department or the Director of Public Prosecutions, against directors or officers of companies following inquiries under Sections 164–165 of the Companies Act 1948 and Section 109 of the Companies Act 1967.
827WI would add that the number of files opened by the Director of Public Prosecutions includes all references made to him by the Department.
The figures given for prosecution relate to the years in which the inquiries were made. The hon. Member will appreciate that some inquiries instituted during the last three years are still in progress and some which have been completed are the subject of further inquiries by the police. There is often some time between the institution of an inquiry and the commencement of criminal proceedings.
Further, where, following inquiries, the Department has petitioned for the compulsory winding up of a company, criminal prosecutions which have ensued are not necessarily included in the statistics set out above.