§ Mr. Kevin HughesTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the number of company insolvencies and how many companies ceased to trade in each of the last five years; and in how many of these cases creditors did not institute liquidation proceedings.
§ Mr. Neil HamiltonInformation on company insolvencies is regularly published by the Association of British Chambers of Commerce, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry, in "Business Briefing"; copies are available in the Library of the House. The figures concerned were most recently published in the edition dated 6 May. The figures for voluntary liquidations show the number of insolvency cases not instituted by creditors.
Information on companies ceasing to trade for reasons other than insolvency is not available.