§ Mr. Cryerasked the Minister for Trade what is the current number of company returns outstanding for each of the past three years; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Dr. Vaughan:It is not possible, without significant expenditure, to indicate how many companies have been in default for particular periods. However, on 4 October, there were 402,004 companies in default of their obligations to deliver accounts, and 363,430 in default in respect of annual returns. Some 30 temporary clerical staff have recently been recruited to follow up defaults.