§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to bring forward proposals to give the power to undertake prosecutions for regulatory offences to the Financial Reporting Council; and whether he intends that power of prosecution to be limited to offences committed after the power was granted.
§ Mr. RedwoodI assume that the hon. Member has in mind the power under section 245C of the Companies Act 1985, as inserted by the Companies Act 1989, to authorise a person to apply to the court under section 245B of the 1985 Act for a declaration that the annual accounts of a company do not comply with the requirements of the 1985 Act, and for an order requiring the directors of the company to prepare revised accounts. I expect in the near future to be able to make a statutory instrument designating the Financial Reporting Review Panel Ltd, established under the auspices of the Financial Reporting Council, for those purposes, once satisfied about the matters set out in section 245C(1). If so, the panel will be able to exercise this power only in respect of accounts for years beginning on or after 23 December 1989 as a result of transitional provisions applicable to section 245B of the 1985 Act. Neither the Financial Reporting Council nor its subsidiary bodies expect to prosecute offences under the Companies Act.