§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many small limited companies failed to file their annual accounts and statutory returns within the statutory prescribed periods, broken down by size of company in the last available year. [37823]
§ Mr. OppenheimThe precise information requested is not available.
However, in 1995–96, 23,954 companies which filed accounts late claimed small company exemptions from the full disclosure requirements of the Companies Act. This compares with a total number of small company accounts registered of 337,000. It is not possible to say how many of those companies which failed to file accounts at all within the period might have proved eligible for the small company exemption. Information on the filing of annual returns by those same companies could be provided only at disproportionate cost.