§ Mr. Trotterasked the Minister for Trade how many investigations under each of the appropriate sections of the Companies Acts have been completed in each of the last five years; and whether he will provide an analysis of the action taken as a result of these reports.
§ Dr. VaughanA complete answer can be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the companies report, which my Department is required by Section 451 of the Companies Act 1948 to lay before both Houses each year, gives details of the activities of branch 2 of the companies division—now companies legislation division. This includes details of successful prosecutions and the number of companies wound up on the Department's petition. Because of the inevitable delay between the submission of a report and any resulting action, the provision of a direct correlation between the two in the companies report would be too costly for its limited value.
The analysis of reports completed and action taken in each of the last five years is: 135W
Reports Completed Companies Act 1967 Companies Act 1948 Successful Prosecutions Winding Up Petitions Section 109 Section 334 Section 165 Section 172 1978 80 11 13 17 6 1979 61 12 7 22 7 1980 82 14 17 1 9 9 1981 110 5 11 1 17 16 1982 76 2 3 9 2