House of Commons Hansard Debates for 1 Nov 1990

Mr. Redwood [holding answer 31 October 1990] : There is a voluntary agreement to restrict the sale of fireworks for the four weeks around 5 November, a law against selling fireworks to under-16s and against letting them off in the street. This provides a framework of protection, but my Department is always prepared to look at suggestions for improving firework safety.

Telecommunications

Mr. Alfred Morris : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action has been taken following the work of COST 219 to improve the access of people with disabilities to telecommunication and teleinformation facilities ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The COST programme provides a framework in which European organisations can carry out long-term research on a collaborative basis. The COST 219 project is not due to be completed until 1991. The Royal National Institute for the Deaf and British Telecom are both participating in the project from the United Kingdom.

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Net Book Agreement

Mr. John Marshall : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will ask the Director General of Fair Trading to re- examine the workings of the net book agreement.

Mr. Redwood : In both 1962 and 1968 the restrictive practices court found the operation of the net book agreement not to be contrary to the public interest. The Director General of Fair Trading carried out a substantial investigation into the operation and effects of the net book agreement in 1989 to see whether circumstances had changed. He concluded that there was an insufficiently strong basis to justify his making an application to the restrictive practices court for a re-examination of the issues. The possibility of making such an application in the future is kept under review by the director general.

Waste Doesn't Pay" Seminars

Dr. Thomas : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution was made by his Department to the "Waste Doesn't Pay" seminars organised by the Confederation of British Industry.

Mr. Redwood : My Department and the CBI planned the seminars jointly and shared the work of finding speakers. Local organisation was provided by the CBI for 10 seminars and by my Department for 2. My Department also provided publicity material for the whole series of seminars. The seminars have been attended by over 700 people in total.

Iraq

Mr. Flynn : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newport, West, Official Report, 22 October, column 55, he will set out the reasons why his Department decided to respond to the request to participate in the "Panorama" programme on Iraq by supplying written replies.

Mr. Sainsbury [holding answer 29 October 1990] : The terms of the agreement eventually reached with "Panorama" on the participation of my Department in the programme on Iraq were that the programme would provide written questions to which my Department would supply written answers. Some of the answers were used in the programme.

Company Directors (Disqualification)

Mrs. Margaret Ewing : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what was, for each of the last five years (a) the number of representations received from liquidators with a view to the institution of proceedings for the disqualification of company directors and (b) the number of prosecutions actually made.

Mr. Redwood [holding answer 29 October 1990] : Insolvency practitioners were first required to submit

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statutory returns and reports on the conduct of the directors of insolvent companies under the Insolvency Act 1985 from 28 April 1986. On 29 December 1986 the relevant provisions of this Act, together with the director disqualification provision of the Companies Act 1985, were re-enacted in the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986.

Insolvency practitioners are required to make returns where they find no unfitted conduct and reports when they believe there has been unfitted conduct.

The statistical information the hon. Member requires on the submissions of reports and returns by insolvency practitioners and the disqualification of company directors in England, Wales and Scotland, covering the period from 28 April 1986 to 30 September 1990, is as follows :


                            |Conduct reports received<1>|Returns received<2>                                    

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1986                        |232                        |1,754                                                  

1987                        |2,104                      |9,148                                                  

1988                        |2,987                      |6,878                                                  

1989                        |2,037                      |4,500                                                  

1990                        |2,051                      |7,373                                                  

<1> Unfitted conduct.                                                                                           

<2> No unfitted conduct.

Many of these unfitted reports related to minor, one-off cases of bad conduct. These would not usually result in court proceedings because a court would not consider it sufficient to warrant disqualification. Disqualification proceedings have been commenced in all those cases of multiple bad conduct or where its gravity means disqualification is likely.

As some voluntary liquidation and receivership cases subsequently involve court winding-up orders, I set out in the table details of disqualification proceedings commenced in official receivers' cases in the same period :

Disqualification proceedings brought against an individual director may include allegations of unfitness emanating from more than one insolvent company.

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