§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement outlining his Department's reasons for not acknowledging the existence or otherwise of investigations into the affairs of individual companies' or accountancy partnerships in response to parliamentary questions about business collapses and frauds; and for how long this practice has been in operation.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonMy Department undertakes a number of inquiries every year into companies under the Companies Acts 1985 and 1989, Insurance Companies Act 1982 and Financial Services Act 1986. Further details are available in the companies annual report published each year. It has long been the policy under Labour as well as Conservative Governments to announce only the appointment of inspectors under certain Companies Act powers. The vast majority of inquiries are not announced both for operational reasons and in order not to prejudice the outcome. Public announcement would undermine the effectiveness of the inquiries and would unduly damage the business of the companies concerned, particularly where no misconduct is discovered.