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Debtor Countries
Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list those countries whose debts have been written off by Her Majesty's Government, and those countries whose debts have been reduced by two thirds, in the last six months.
Mrs. Chalker : Debt cancellation of up to two thirds is a feature of the proposals for enhanced debt relief made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister in Trinidad in 1990. We are delighted that in mid-December, as a direct result of these proposals, the Paris Club began implementing enhanced debt relief on Trinidad terms. Nicaragua and Benin were the first countries to benefit and I hope, and expect, that they will shortly be followed by other poor and indebted countries which are undertaking economic reform. The United Kingdom will continue to push for improvements in the terms offered, along the lines of the Prime Minister's original Trinidad terms proposals.
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Third World Debt
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action his Department is proposing over the cancellation of third world debt ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Chalker : The Government believe that, for those poorest countries whose efforts to achieve economic growth have been hampered by the heaviest debt burdens, debt relief has an important role to play. We were delighted to achieve Paris Club consensus in mid-December, when government creditors began to implement enhanced debt relief on Trinidad terms for the first time. This advance was a direct result of the proposals made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, as Chancellor, in 1990. The United Kingdom will continue to push for full implementation, by all creditors, of the original Trinidad terms proposals which addressed the entire stock of a country's official debt and allowed for increased concessionality.
Southern Africa
Mr. Pike : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what percentage of aid in 1991 in southern Africa was for educational purposes.
Mrs. Chalker : In 1990 (the latest calendar year for which figures are available), British bilateral aid in total and for the education sector for the countries of southern Africa was as follows :
Recipient<1> Aid<2> Education sector<3>
|£ million|£ million|Per cent
-----------------------------------------------------
Angola |1.2 |0.2 |17.0
Botswana |6.6 |1.7 |26.0
Lesotho |5.8 |0.9 |15.0
Malawi |30.1 |2.1 |7.0
Mozambique |25.4 |0.2 |1.0
Namibia |1.5 |0.4 |28.0
South Africa |6.3 |4.2 |66.0
Swaziland |2.1 |0.4 |19.0
Tanzania |22.3 |1.7 |8.0
Zambia |24.0 |3.0 |12.0
Zimbabwe |14.6 |1.3 |9.0
SADCC |6.3 |0.1 |2.0
|--- |--- |---
Total |146.2 |16.2 |11.0
<1>Member states of the Southern African Development
Co-ordination Conference plus South Africa (
programme of assistance for black South Africans).
<2>Gross bilateral aid, excluding investments by the
Commonwealth Development Corporation and
narcotics-related assistance funded by the Home
Office and diplomatic wing of the Foreign and
Commonwealth office.
<3>Assistance provided mainly in the form of
technical co-operation, including teacher and other
related training, provision of experts and
consultants, funding of volunteers and the supply of
books and other materials. Figures exclude training
in non-education-related subjects.
HOME DEPARTMENT
Dr. Malde Modwadia
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will pay compensation to Dr. Malde Modwadia of 245 Goodwood road, Leicester, following his acquittal at Northampton crown court on 8 January 1992.
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Mr. John Patten : If Dr. Malde Modwadia applies to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary for compensation his application will be carefully considered in accordance with the current relevant arrangements for the payment of compensation.
Prisons
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year on 1 December for the 10 years to 1991, and for each of Her Majesty's prison establishments in the United Kingdom, the number of prisoners held at each establishment, by category.
Mrs. Rumbold : I shall write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates have been displaced in the last two years as a result of the discovery of design faults in new prisons in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : I am sorry that the information requested is not available, but very few prisoners would have been transferred for these reasons.
Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of rectifying each design fault which has been found since 1982, in new prisons in England and Wales ; and if he will specify the prisons concerned.
Mrs. Rumbold : The available information on expenditure incurred in rectifying design faults found since 1982 in new prisons in England and Wales is as follows :
|£
--------------------------------------------------------------------
HM prison, Frankland (opened 1982)
Modification to workshops |300,000
Improvements to windows |180,000
Upgrading of utilities |133,000
Enhancement of fire precautions |114,000
|-------
|727,000
|-------
HM prison, Stocken (opened 1985)
Flooring |30,000
Repairs to heating system |235,000
Repairs to staff quarters |250,000
|-------
|515,000
|-------
HM young offenders institution, Thorn Cross (opened
1985)
Sports hall roof |100,000
Modifications to boiler house and heating system |181,000
|-------
|281,000
|-------
HM prison, Garth (opened 1988)
Modifications to kitchen |250,000
Other work |15,000
|-------
|265,000
|-------
HM young offenders institution, The Mount (opened
1988)
Improvements in security |280,000
Comparable figures are not readily available for other new establishments, where in a number of cases negotiations on liabilities for defects are in progress.
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Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison staff have been transferred on a temporary or permanent basis in the last two years as a result of additional prison building work necessitated by the discovery of design faults in prisons in England and Wales.
Mrs. Rumbold : No staff have been permanently or temporarily transferred from new prisons as a result of design faults in the last two years.
From time to time it may be necessary to transfer staff when refurbishment work is undertaken to bring older prisons up to modern standards, but no statistical information is recorded about the number of officers transferred for this purpose.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by year on 1 December for the 10 years to 1991, and for each of Her Majesty's prison establishments in the United Kingdom, the number of prison officers in post, and by sex.
Mrs. Rumbold : This information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Police Interrogation
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he expects to install video recording equipment at all police stations to be used during the interrogation of suspects ; (2) if he will list the police stations that currently use video recordings of interrogation of suspects ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : There are no current plans to introduce video- recording of interviews of suspects in all police stations. Interviews with suspects are being video-recorded in stations in the forces of West Mercia and West Midlands, and at Edmonton station in the Metropolitan police. An independent evaluation will be completed in the spring of 1992. Further action will depend on consideration of this evaluation and will take into account the fact that this is an issue which falls within the terms of reference of the Royal Commission on criminal justice.
Concessionary Television Licences
Mr. Andrew Bowden : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the revenue forgone by the provision of a concessionary television licence to people living in sheltered housing in certain circumstances.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : It is estimated that about £40 million per year is forgone as a result of the concessionary licence scheme.
South Yorkshire Police
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable on the locations in South Yorkshire, where potential high-risk crime victims have been issued with free mobile telephones by the South Yorkshire police force ; and if he will show in his answer how many have been distributed per location.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This pioneering scheme, called Safelink, has been devised by the South Yorkshire police
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and is sponsored by Vodafone Ltd., which is providing 16 portable pre-programmed mobile telephones free of charge on a one-year trial basis. Fifteen of the telephones are currently issued to high-risk victims of crime so that they can contact the police quickly if they feel threatened ; seven are located in Sheffield, three in Doncaster, two in Barnsley and one each in Bolton-on-Dearne, Rotherham and Stocksbridge.Muslim Parliament
Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has had from the Muslim Parliament ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : We have received no direct representations from the self-styled Muslim Parliament.
As the reaction of many other Muslims has shown, this body is not representative of Muslims generally in this country. We will continue to maintain close contacts with other Muslim bodies which make representations to us against the background of respect for the rule of law. Britain is a diverse and tolerant society, but we cannot accept any form of separatism nor any attempts to incite the community to civil disobedience.
Extradition
Mr. Dalyell : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for extradition of citizens of countries with which the United Kingdom has no reciprocal extradition treaty arrangements have been made by the British Government in each of the past 10 years ; how many have been successful ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. John Patten : The United Kingdom has made two extradition requests in the past 10 years to countries with which no formal extradition arrangements have been concluded, in 1987 and 1989. One person returned voluntarily before the request could be considered ; the other could not be found.
Royal Commission on Criminal Justice
Sir John Farr : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Royal Commission on criminal justice to report.
Mr. John Patten : When it was established in March 1991, the Royal Commission on criminal justice was asked to make every effort to complete its work within two years. It held its first meeting in June 1991 and we understand that it is seeking to adhere to the two-year timetable.
Criminal Records
Mr. Tony Lloyd : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the crimes for which records are kept indefinitely by police ; and if he will indicate the kinds of data held in such records.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Crime information collected by police forces, and the length of time it is kept, are matters for chief officers to determine. The Association of Chief Police Officers has published a code of practice for police computer systems which provides guidelines for the review and removal of data. A copy of the code is in the Library.
The code recommends that detected crime reports should normally be kept for no longer than six years,
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except where legal proceedings, appeals or reviews are still pending at the end of that period. Reports of undetected crime should normally be kept for no longer than 10 years, unless relating to serious crime such as homicide, assaults causing serious injury, rape, buggery, kidnapping ; serious cases of arson, robbery and burglary ; and criminal use of firearms and explosives. These reports should be reviewed every five years thereafter.Mrs. Ahmed Yusuf Mako
Mr. Cartwright : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reach a decision on the application for refugee status made in October 1989 by Mrs. Ahmed Yusuf Mako, reference A450605.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Mrs. Mako's application is now under consideration, and we expect to reach a decision shortly.
Category A Prisoners
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many high-risk category A prisoners there were in prisons in England and Wales on 31 December 1991 ; of what offences these people had been convicted ; and how long each of these prisoners had spent, up to 31 December 1991, as high-risk category A prisoners.
Mrs. Rumbold : On 31 December 1991 there were 106 high-risk category A prisoners in custody in England and Wales. This figure includes convicted and sentenced prisoners, unconvicted (remand) prisoners, and convicted prisoners awaiting sentence. A range of offences is involved including murder, robbery and offences associated with terrorism. Information on time spent as high risk category A prisoners is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how long high-risk category A has been in operation as a category in prisons in England and Wales ; and how many prisoners in total have been placed in this category since it came into being.
Mrs. Rumbold : The classification of prisoners as high-risk category A was introduced in its present form in 1988. Other information in the form requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average length of time that prisoners remain as high -risk category A prisoner.
Mrs. Rumbold : Information in the form requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Andrew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what difference in treatment results as a consequence of prisoners being categorised as high-risk category A.
Mrs. Rumbold : In maximum security (dispersal) prisons, the difference in treatment between category A high-risk prisoners and those at standard risk is apparant only in the supervision arrangements for receiving visitors. Visits involving high-risk inmates are more closely supervised. Where high-risk prisoners are held in local
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prisons, additional security measures may be applied according to local circumstances. When a high-risk category A prisoner is taken outside an establishment, additional escort measures may be applied according to circumstances at the time.Electoral Registration
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the amount spent on advertising the rights of overseas voters under the Representation of the People Act 1989 for each financial year at current prices, plus the amount projected for expenditure in the current year.
Mrs. Rumbold : Spending on advertising the rights of overseas voters under the Representation of the People Act 1989 occurred only in the financial year 1990-91. The sum involved was £705,000 (£691, 000 at current prices). No advertising expenditure is planned in the current financial year.
Source of Media Inflation Index : Advertising Association Press/TV and DMB & B estimate.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve levels of electoral registration prior to the 1992 general election ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : We have already undertaken a number of steps to support electoral registration officers in their task of compiling an accurate register for 1992, as in previous years. We conducted a nation- wide advertising campaign designed to encourage people to register, and produced publicity material aimed at encouraging young people to register. Research continued into the working methods of electoral registration officers, and the results were used to inform guidance and advice to registration officers.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the amounts spent on advertising for electoral registration for each financial year from 1979 at current prices, plus the amount projected for expenditure in the current year.
Mrs. Rumbold : The information requested is given in the table :
|Actual figure|Current
|price<1>
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |47,000 |122,000
1980-81 |nil |n/a
1981-82 |80,000 |151,000
1982-83 |87,000 |145,000
1983-84 |102,000 |157,000
1984-85 |132,000 |194,000
1985-86 |152,000 |204,000
1986-87 |588,000 |709,000
1987-88 |257,000 |279,000
1988-89 |457,000 |480,000
1989-90 |452,000 |450,000
1990-91 |923,000 |905,000
1991-92 |627,000 |627,000
<1> Source of media inflation index: Advertising
Association Press/TV, and DMB and B estimate.
n/a-not applicable.
Note: All figures are rounded to nearest £1,000.
The electoral registration budget for the financial
year 1992-93 is £642,000.
Column 53
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the amount spent on electoral registration (a) by his Department and (b) by local authorities in the years (i) 1988-89, (ii) 1989-90 (iii) 1990-91 and (iv) 1991-92, respectively, showing also the figures at 1988-89 prices.
Mrs. Rumbold : Details of local authority spending on electoral registration are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Details of Home Office spending, on advertising and publicity, is as follows :
8
|Actual figure|1988-89
|price<1>
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------
1988-89 |472,000 |472,000
1989-90 |481,000 |456,000
1990-91 |1,070,000 |998,000
1991-92 |647,000 |616,000
<1> Source of Media Inflation Index: Advertising
Association Press/TV and DMB & B estimate.
Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure has been incurred by his Department on the electoral registration of expatriate voters ; and what are the numbers who have registered to vote in the United Kingdom.
Mrs. Rumbold : Advertising campaigns to inform British citizens living abroad of their voting rights were undertaken in 1986, when the overseas franchise was introduced by the Representation of the People Act 1985 ; and in 1990, upon the extension of the qualifying period from five to 20 years, under the Representation of the People Act 1989. The total costs were £279,000 and £705,000 respectively. There are 34,454 overseas electors on the 1991-92 electoral register.
Motorists (Assault Charges)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest available annual figure of motorists who have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of, assault against (i) pedestrians, (ii) cyclists and (iii) other motorists (1) in the Metropolitan police area of London and (2) for England and Wales ; and if he will also give these figures for the preceding nine years.
Mr. John Patten : Information held centrally does not distinguish motorists from others charged or convicted of assaults.
Police Traffic Departments
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest available annual figure of civilian staff working in police traffic departments (a) in the Metropolitan police area of London and (b) for England and Wales ; and if he will give the figures for the preceding nine years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The table gives numbers of traffic wardens for the years 1982 to 1990. Other civilian support
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staff assigned by the Metropolitan police to its traffic division are also shown, from the earliest available year. Information on civilian staff in traffic divisions, other than traffic wardens, for provincial forces is not available centrally.
Metropolitan police
As at |Civil staff|Traffic |Provincial
31 December |wardens |forces<2>
------------------------------------------------------------
1982 |<1>- |1,474 |3,123
1983 |<1>- |1,787 |3,127
1984 |<1>- |1,830 |3,030
1985 |<1>- |1,701 |3,068
1986 |<1>- |1,689 |3,104
1987 |150 |1,539 |3,215
1988 |142 |1,442 |3,208
1989 |139 |1,338 |3,266
1990 |115 |1,436 |3,372
1991 |114 |1,659 |<1>-
<1> Information is not available for these years.
<2> Includes the City of London police.
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the latest available annual figure of police traffic officers (a) in the Metropolitan police area of London and (b) for England and Wales ; and if he will give the figures for the preceding nine years.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Information is available centrally only from 1986 for provincial forces, and from 1987 for the Metropolitan police, and relates to officers deployed full time on traffic duties. Details are given in the table.
4 As at |Metropolitan|Provincial 31 December |police |forces<1> ---------------------------------------------------- 1986 |n/a |8,355 1987 |753 |8,154 1988 |761 |7,898 1989 |787 |7,834 1990 |819 |7,930 1991 |820 |n/a <1> Includes the City of London police.
Motorists (Criminal Charges)
Mr. Harry Barnes : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest available annual figures of motorists who have been (a) charged with and (b) convicted of (i) failure to accord precedence at zebra and pedestrian crossings, (ii) failure to stop at a red or amber traffic light, (iii) speeding, (iv) drunken driving, (v) illegal use of bus lanes and (vi) reckless driving respectively, (1) in the Metropolitan police area of London and (2) for England and Wales ; and if he will also give these figures for the preceding nine years.
Mr. John Patten : Information held centrally does not distinguish offences of illegal use of bus lanes from other offences of neglect of traffic directions.
Complete information on the other offences is readily available only for 1987 to 1989 and is as follows :
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Number of proceedings and findings of guilt for certain motoring offences in England and Wales
and the Metropolitan Police District 1987-1989
Proceedings Findings of guilt
|------- |-------
Year and offence |England |Metropolitan |England |Metropolitan
|and Wales |Police |and Wales |Police
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1987
Neglect of pedestrian rights (endorseable offences<1>) |20,283 |5,788 |18,778 |5,506
Failing to comply with traffic sign<2> |20,665 |6,167 |17,189 |5,711
Speed limit offences |170,363 |21,432 |163,916 |21,104
Driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs |130,533 |22,693 |115,097 |18,583
Reckless driving |6,954 |500 |5,010 |405
1988
Neglect of pedestrian rights (endorseable offences<1>) |18,825 |5,489 |17,143 |5,209
Failing to comply with traffic sign<2> |21,928 |6,235 |18,370 |5,685
Speed limit offences |173,321 |18,441 |166,129 |18,026
Driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs |135,825 |24,110 |119,033 |19,590
Reckless driving |8,763 |621 |6,470 |554
1989
Neglect of pedestrian rights (endorseable offences<1>) |15,771 |3,431 |14,125 |3,169
Failing to comply with traffic sign<2> |20,726 |3,505 |17,014 |3,053
Speed limit offences |172,985 |10,788 |164,282 |10,253
Driving etc after consuming alcohol or taking drugs |129,122 |20,731 |114,347 |17,278
Reckless driving |9,654 |643 |6,964 |604
<1> Includes also offences of neglect of pedestrian rights in controlled areas, on pelican crossings, in playstreets etc in addition to
zebra and pedestrian crossings.
<2> Includes also offences of failing to comply with traffic signs, stop signs and double white lines etc in addition to traffic lights.
The information for 1990 and 1991 is not yet available. Information on findings of guilt only for the last three offence categories shown in the above table for the years 1980 to 1986 may be found in "Offences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales", supplementary tables. Copies of each year's volumes are in the Library.
Prison Dog Service
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for the restructuring of the prison dog service ; and if he will make a statement.
Mrs. Rumbold : An internal review of the organisation of the prison dog service was commissioned during 1991 from the prison department management services group. It has recently submitted a draft of its final report and this is currently being considered within the prison service headquarters.
Wolds Prison
Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what mechanisms exist permitting Group 4 to vary the contract price in respect of the Wolds prison should the inmate population exceed its normal level for a sustained period of time.
Mrs. Rumbold : The Government's contract with Group 4 Remand Services Ltd. for the management of Wolds remand prison provides for variations to be made to the services required of Group 4, and for such fair and reasonable adjustments to be made to the payment under the contract as may be attributable to the variations made. Such variations could include changes to the level of occupancy.
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Mr. Archer : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps Group 4 is required to take to ensure that the levels of (a) medical care, (b) diet and (c) education standards in the Wolds prison are sufficient to meet the needs of the prisoners.
Mrs. Rumbold : The requirements placed on Group 4 Remand Services Ltd. as to the level of medical care, diet and education which it is to provide at Wolds remand prison are set out in the specification for the operation of the prison, a copy of which was placed in the Library on 2 May 1991.
Naturalisation
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current backlog of applications for naturalisation under section 6 of the British Nationality Act 1981.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 16 January 1992, the number of applications for naturalisation awaiting determination was 41,194, of which 3,431 were complete but for the applicants swearing at oath or making an affirmation of allegiance or were waiting for the issue of a certificate.
Mr. Tony Banks : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applicants for naturalisation are awaiting interview by the Metropolitan police ; and what is the date of the earliest applicant.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : As at 16 January 1992, there were 734 applications for naturalisation referred to the Metropolitan police for interview which were awaiting return to the Home Office. Of these, the earliest date of application is 18 August 1986.
Column 57
TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Insolvency
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list by year, for the last 10 years, the number of companies his Department has referred to the High Court to be wound up due to trading while insolvent.
Mr. Redwood : The Secretary of State has generally no power to present a winding up petition solely on the basis of insolvent trading. However, following inquiries under the Companies Acts 1985 and 1989, the Insurance Company Act 1982, the Financial Services Act 1986 or the Criminal Justice Act 1987 if it appears that it is expedient in the public interest to do so, he may present a petition for a company to be wound up. The table lists the number of winding-up orders made on petitions presented by the Secretary of State for each of the last 10 years.
Number of companies
wound up on the
petition of the
Secretary of State
|Number
-------------------------
1981 |16
1982 |2
1983 |18
1984 |21
1985 |21
1986-87<1> |40
1987-88 |22
1988-89 |16
1989-90 |19
1990-91 |27
<1> 1 January 1986 to 31
March 1987.
Postal Services
Ms. Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what is the status of the Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services ;
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Green Paper on the development of the single market for postal services.
Mr. Leigh : I understand that the EC Commission currently expects to publish its Green Paper on European postal services within the next few weeks. As soon as copies are available, I shall place one in the Library.
Miss Hoey : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his policy with regard to the continuation of a door-to-door postal service throughout the United Kingdom.
Mr. Leigh : As the citizens charter White Paper made clear, the Government are fully committed to the continued provision of letter services which serve all the United Kingdom's 24 million addresses.
Mint and Boxed
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Queen's award for export achievement was given to the company Mint and Boxed ; and what was the value of that award to the company.
Mr. Redwood : The Queen's award was granted to the company on 21 April 1991. The award does not involve any monetary prize.
Mr. Cousins : To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he became aware of possible financial
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irregularities at the company Mint and Boxed ; whether he has been asked to use his powers under the Companies Act 1985 to investigate that company ; and whether any investigation is under way.Mr Redwood : The possible financial irregularities were brought to the attention of my Department in July 1991. This matter is currently being investigated by the police and it would not be appropriate for me to comment further.
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