§ Sir Michael McNair-WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consideration his Department has given to reintroducing an exemption for small private companies from filing accounts.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg[holding answer 14 November 1989]: A proposal to exempt small companies from the requirement to file their accounts is included in the draft directive adopted by the European Commission last year, amending the fourth company law directive on annual accounts. The responses to my Department's consultative document, a copy of which was placed in the Library of the House in February, were overwhelmingly opposed to the proposed exemption, and we shall take this into account when negotiations on the draft directive resume.