§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade in respect of how many liquidated companies in the south-west which received financial support from his Department in each of the last eight years his Department are creditors; and what is the total owed. [20792]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 14 March 1996]: The information, in respect of recipients of support under the Department's regional, enterprise and technology schemes, is as follows:
Year of liquidation Number of companies Total amount owed £ thousand 1988 4 141 1989 10 197 1990 18 465 1991 12 290 1992 13 280 1993 10 182 1994 8 471 1995 4 137 All but £81,000 of the above has been written off.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what safeguards exist in his Department to ensure that conflicts of interest do not arise between employees of his Department or others giving advice in any capacity in his Department's regional offices in respect of the issuing of financial assistance to local businesses; and when they were introduced. [22566]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 25 March 1996]: The Department's conditions of service have for many years required staff to declare any conflicts of interest. Failure to do so can lead to disciplinary action against the member of staff concerned. Under the Department's standard conditions of contract for consultants, external advisers who fail to declare a conflict are exposed to the possibility of termination of contract and other legal action. This has been the position since 1992. The Department announced in February that all future contracts with external advisers will contain a clause requiring them to agree not to take up appointments with firms on which they have previously given advice in relation to regional selective assistance grant applications for a period of two years after payments to these firms have ceased. The Department is considering whether similar action should be taken in respect of other financial assistance schemes.
§ Mr. JamiesonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what checks are in operation to ensure that the conditions under which financial assistance is approved by his Department are met by the companies that have received this assistance. [22570]
§ Mr. Oppenheim[holding answer 25 March 1996]: The checks vary depending on the nature of the assistance given and the risk to which the Department is exposed.