§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, if he will detail, for each year since the inception of the EEC code of conduct for European firms operating in South Africa, how many companies in which the Church has investments were shown by the returns to the Department of Trade and Industry not to have fully complied with the code; and what action was taken.
§ Sir William van StraubenzeeDetailed information is not available for the whole eight-year period. In the last three years all United Kingdom companies have satisfied the commissioners either that they have complied with the code, or are making progress in that direction; although in four cases correspondence is continuing.
§ Mr. Frank Fieldasked the hon. Member for Wokingham, as representing the Church Commissioners, how many companies in which the Church has investments have been approached by the commissioners in each year since the inception of the EEC code of conduct for European firms operating in South Africa in respect of their returns to the Department of Trade and Industry on non-compliance with the code.
§ Sir William van StraubenzeeDetailed information is not available for the whole eight-year period, but since 1983 the following initial approaches have been made to companies:
- 1983:14
- 1984:21
- 1985:12 (to date)
In many cases, these initial inquiries have led to subsequent correspondence or discussion with company management.