§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of company accounts are lodged on time; what efforts are made to pursue late reports; and what studies he has carried out of the correlation between late reporting and subsequent company failures.
§ Mr. RedwoodOf the company accounts accepted by Companies house during the financial year 1989–90, 54 per cent. of those filed by public companies and 53 per cent. of410W those filed by private companies were received by the due date. A further 25 per cent. of public and 20 per cent. of private company accounts came in within three months of the due date. If accounts are not submitted within the statutory period allowed, a series of letters are issued. Action taken by Companies house can result in prosecution of the individual directors. There have been no studies carried out on the correlation between late reporting and subsequent company failure.