§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what action had been taken by his Department to investigate repeated late filing of accounts by Scotts Greys Travel Ltd., from 1985 prior to the company's collapse in 1992.
§ Mr. Neil Hamilton[holding answer 27 January 1993]: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the chief executive of Companies House executive agency for which my Department is responsible. I have, therefore, asked Mr. David Durham to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from David Durham to Mr Alan Milburn. dated 26 January 1993:
I refer to your Parliamentary Question concerning the action taken by Companies House Executive Agency to investigate repeated late filing of accounts by Scotts Grcys Travel Limited from 1985 prior to the company's collapse in 1992. I have been asked to reply as Chief Executive and Registrar of Companies House Executive Agency.If companies fail to file on time Companies House instigate a procedure for achieving compliance. This system has changed considerably over the last two years, and coupled with the introduction of late filing penalties in July 1992, has resulted in a marked improvement in timeliness.Prior to July 1992 once companies filed, albeit late, all pursuit action ceased. This would have been the case in respect of this company.The company's accounts for the period ending 31 December 1991 should have been delivered to me by 31 October 1992. No accounts were received and on 16 November a letter warning that the accounts were overdue was issued to the company at its Registered Office. No response was received and on 29 December 1992 a notice was issued to Mr David Scott at his home address warning him that if the document was not received within the next 28 days, criminal proceedings would he instituted against him.However, on 19 January the Registrar received a copy of an order for the compulsory winding up of the company. The Official Receiver is now dealing with the liquidation and in the circumstances, Companies House will not pursue the outstanding accounts.The role of Companies House is to maintain an up-to-date company register, to ensure that companies comply with the filing requirements of the Companies Act 1985 and to make this information available to the public. Companies House does not investigate the reasons for late filing once the document in question has been filed. It is not the responsibility of Companies House to scrutinise accounts filed beyond establishing that they comply with legal requirements. The records that Companies House make available to the public exist to provide anyone doing business with a limited company, information about its structure, ownership and financial standing. The absence of statutory documents on the file should be a warning to potential creditors.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what action he is proposing to take following the collapse of Scotts Greys Travel Ltd.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 27 January 1993]: Scotts Greys Travel Ltd. was wound up by the court on 7 January 1993. The Official Receiver, who is also the liquidator, has a duty to investigate the causes of the company's failure and report any misconduct to the Secretary of State.
§ Mr. MilburnTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of how many customers have been affected by the collapse of Scotts Greys Travel Ltd.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 27 January 1993]: The Official Receiver has not yet obtained details of the total number of customers who have been affected by the liquidation of this company.