§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what plans he has to review the present treatment of leasing in company accounts; and what provision is currently made in respect of such treatment to allow fair comparison between company performances by investors.
§ Mr. RedwoodAccounting standards are intended to foster greater comparability among company accounts. Accounting for leases is dealt with in statement of standard accounting practice 21 (SSAP21) issued by the Accounting Standards Committee in 1984 and, together with all other then existing standards, adopted by the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) on its formation in August 1990. The ASB announced then that it would, in due course, review all those standards. My Department has drawn the attention of the ASB to several points which will need to be considered when SSAP 21 is reviewed.