Insolvency Service (Hansard, 27 October 1993)

§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what recent representations he has received about the competence of insolvency service staff.

§ Mr. Neil Hamilton
No recent representations have been received.

§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many staff are employed in the insolvency service disqualification unit; and what was the average number employed in the unit for each year since 1987.

§ Mr. Neil Hamilton
The insolvency service's disqualification unit currently employs 49.5 persons. The number averaged 47 in each year from 1987 to 1990, 49 in 1991 and 49.5 in 1992.

§ Mr. Nigel Griffiths
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many insolvencies, identifying companies and bankruptcies were dealt with by the insolvency service together with the average number of staff, identifying permanent and casual, in post for each year from 1987.

§ Mr. Neil Hamilton
The insolvency service dealt with the following number of cases:
The average number of staff were:
make to the energy report next year. I am sure that the report will be an invaluable document to all those with an interest in energy.
With the arrival of the panel, I have decided to dissolve the Department's former advisory council on research and development. ACORD has provided valuable technical advice to a succession of Ministers and Departments since it was first set up 45 years ago but major changes to the energy scene in recent years—particularly the privatisation of the nationalised energy industries—have meant that ACORD's main original function—a detailed technical overview of those industries research plans—is no longer necessary.
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The council had itself recently suggested to me that its ambit might usefully be extended to issues of energy policy —an area where it would have overlapped directly with the panel.
I have written to ACORD members thanking them for their service.
The full membership of the energy advisory panel is as follows:
CHAIRMAN
Martin Holdgate Currently Director General, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; formerly Chief Environment Scientist, Department of the Environment. Recent chairman of the Renewable Energy Advisory Group (REAG).
MEMBERS
Lady (Mary) Archer Chairman of the National Energy Foundation, formerly a member of REAG.
Ron Campbell Former Managing Director of Babcock Energy and Director of the Nuclear Power Group, now a consultant. Member of the Department's former Advisory council on Energy Research and Development (ACORD) and of the NII's Advisory Council on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (ACSNI).
Tony Cooper General Secretary, Engineers' and Managers' Association.
Nigel Evans Managing Director, Caminus Energy Ltd. former member of ACORD
David Green, MBE Director, Combined Heat and Power Association.
Dieter Helm Oxford Economic Research Associates.
Peter Ibbotson Director of Construction, Sainsbury plc.
Professor Alexander Kemp University of Aberdeen Department of Economics.
Sam Laidlaw Managing Director Amerada Hess (UK) Ltd., former president of the UK Offshore Operators' Association.
Mike Parker Consultant, former Director of Economics, British Coal.
Paul Rich Managing Director, Allied Steel and Wire.
Lynda Rouse Director, Public Sector Unit, Barclays de Zoete Wedd Ltd.
Ann Scully Vice-Chairman, National Consumers Council and Chairman, Domestic Coal Consumers' Council.
Anthony White National Grid Company (NGC).
Professor Alan Williams Leeds University Department of Fuel and Energy.