§ Mr. William PowellTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what targets have been set for the Companies house executive agency.
§ Mr. MaudeCompanies house's creation as an executive agency on 3 October last year built on the very considerable progress that has been made in the organisation in recent years. The activities of Companies house in making available information about companies promote enterprise and contribute substantially to open and informed markets. Its first few months as an agency confirm that this new status will enable Companies house to provide a still better service to its many customers, and to increase its efficiency.
My right hon. and noble Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has today set the chief executive the following targets for improvements in the quality of service and financial performance over the next two years:
10 per cent. reduction in the proportion of companies which have not filed all the accounts and annual returns required by the Companies Act, so that by June 1991 the compliance rate will be increased to 83 per cent;20 per cent. reduction in the time taken to process documents, so that by April 1991 documents are on average available to the public within 18 working days of being delivered to Companies House;12 per cent. increase in output per member of staff;7 per cent. decrease in unit costs in real terms.In addition my right hon. and noble Friend has emphasised to the chief executive the need to provide a standard of service over the whole range of Companies 714W house operations which meets the needs of his customers. As well as maintaining his efforts to improve the quality of existing services, we expect the chief executive shortly to announce new services in response to customer demands to enhance the accessibility of the information he holds.
My right hon. and noble Friend is also glad to announce that there will be no increase in the level of statutory fees for Companies house services in the 1989–90 financial year.