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India
Mr. Godsiff : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Indian high commissioner about the continued detention of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Shabir Shah.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : Her Majesty's high commission in New Delhi has been following the cases of Syed Ali Shah Gilani, Shabir Shah and Abdul Gani Lone and has provided us with regular reports. We have repeatedly raised our concerns about human rights with the Indian Government, and shall continue to do so when we believe such representations are helpful and appropriate.
Mr. Godsiff : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the working methods and constitution of the Indian National Human Rights Commission (a) in general and (b) in relation to its investigation of the Bijbehara massacre ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Lennox-Boyd : The Indian Human Rights Commission is due to publish its first quarterly report at the end of January. We have not sought to prejudge the operation of the commission before it has established itself. We shall look carefully at its first report which we understand will include an account of the incident at Bijbehara in October.
Sudan
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action Her Majesty's Government is proposing following the Biro report on human rights issues in Sudan.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Dr. Biro is finalising his report, which he will submit shortly to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. We will work to secure the continuation of his mandate. We will continue to press the Government of Sudan both bilaterally and in international forums over its human rights performance.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's latest estimate of the state of the SPLA factions in the southern Sudan.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Discussions involving the leaders of the SPLA "mainstream" and "united" factions are continuing under the auspices of the IGADD initiative. On 6 January, the faction leaders signed a joint declaration outlining their position on an agenda for peace talks. Together with our European Union partners, we will continue to urge the faction leaders to settle their differences by peaceful means, and to respond constructively to the IGADD initiative.
Mr. Worthington : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the latest information available to the United Kingdom Government about what has happened to the people in the Nuba mountains area of Sudan.
Mr. Douglas Hogg : Our information is limited, given the restrictions on access to the area. We remain profoundly concerned, however. We note the assessment in the interim report of the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Sudan that the
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"violations committed by the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary forces under its control seem to be of such a grave nature that the fate of the Nuba communities in the area may be questioned". We strongly support the rapporteur's recommendation that the Sudanese Government give human rights organisations free access to the Nuba mountains.Fraud
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many employees were judged to be guilty of fraud in his Department in each year since 1989 ; and how many were dismissed.
Mr. Goodlad : No member of this Department has been judged to have been guilty of fraud since 1989.
One officer in the diplomatic wing was, however, found guilty in 1992 of false accounting, served nine months' imprisonment and was dismissed from the Department. One other officer was found guilty in 1993 of false overtime claims and was also dismissed.
Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy for dealing with employees found guilty of fraud.
Mr. Goodlad : Possible cases of fraud are investigated fully. All cases, other than minor offences, are referred to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider police investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution. Individuals found guilty of fraud would be subject to internal disciplinary proceedings, which would generally lead to dismissal, independently of any action taken by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Malaysian Arms Deal
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many files marked "Not for NAO eyes" relating to the Malaysian arms deal are held in his Department or in the high commission in Kuala Lumpur.
NATIONAL FINANCE
North Sea Oil
Mrs. Ewing : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the total amount of revenue which has accrued to the Exchequer for each year since 1979 from North sea oil, breaking this down into each aspect of the relevant tax regulations.
Mr. Dorrell : Revenues raised from North sea oil and gas production by category of tax since 1979-80 have been as follows :
£ million
Corporation Tax
Year |Petroleum|Supple- |ACT |Main- |Royalty |Total
|revenue |mentary |setoff |stream
|tax |petroleum |CT
|duty
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1979-80 |1,435 |- |78 |172 |628 |2,313
1980-81 |2,410 |- |97 |244 |992 |3,743
1981-82 |2,390 |2,025 |270 |411 |1,396 |6,492
1982-83 |3,274 |2,395 |202 |319 |1,632 |7,822
1983-84 |6,017 |- |430 |447 |1,904 |8,798
1984-85 |7,177 |- |1,244 |1,188 |2,426 |12,035
1985-86 |6,375 |- |1,085 |1,831 |2,057 |11,348
1986-87 |1,188 |- |1,130 |1,546 |919 |4,783
1987-88 |2,296 |- |681 |617 |1,024 |4,618
1988-89 |1,371 |- |685 |510 |602 |3,168
1989-90 |1,050 |- |495 |248 |575 |2,368
1990-91 |860 |- |363 |484 |605 |2,312
1991-92 |-216 |- |370 |268 |557 |979
1992-93 |69 |- |480 |202 |554 |1,305
<1>1993-94 |500 |- |300 |- |600 |1,400
<1>1994-95 Financial Statement and Budget Report estimate.
Correspondence
Mr. Winnick : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the hon. Member for Walsall, North will receive a reply to his letter of 20 December on VAT on domestic fuel reference 0595/29.
Sir John Cope : I replied to this letter on 27 January 1994.
Maintenance Orders
Mr. Hunter : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what part of a maintenance order imposed by the Child Support Agency is allowable against personal taxation.
Mr. Dorrell : Payments made under a Child Support Agency assessment, like those made under a court order or legally enforceable written agreement, may qualify for tax relief up to a limit equal to the married couple's allowance, currently £1,720. Where an assessment replaces arrangements first made before March 1988, tax relief may be available up to a limit equal to the payments for which the payer was entitled to relief in 1988-89.
Special Advisers
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to his answer of 17 December, Official Report, columns 974-75, if he will outline the particular qualifications, expertise or experience in the economic and financial area of (a) Mrs. Tessa Keswich and (b) Mr. David Ruffley.
Mr. Kenneth Clarke : It is not my practice to comment on the qualifications, expertise or experience of my special advisers.
Gross Domestic Product
Mrs. Clwyd : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the current gross domestic product per head by constituency.
Mr. Nelson : The information is not available at this level of detail. The most detailed available estimates of GDP are at the county level. The most recent information available by county is for 1991, which was published in the December 1993 issue of "Economic Trends", a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
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Community Care Expenditure
Mr. Morgan : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the figure for community care expenditure agreed for each of the next three financial years under (a) the Department of Health and (b) other departmental programmes in (i) cash and (ii) real terms.
Mr. Portillo [holding answer 27 January 1994] : The level of spending on community care will be determined by individual local authorities, and will reflect their views about local needs and relative spending priorities. The Department of Health programme makes provision for a special transitional grant to local authorities, in recognition of their new responsibilities for community care, amounting to £735.9 million in 1994-95 and £647.6 million in 1995-96, including funding in respect of the arrangements to succeed the independent living fund. A decision on the special transitional grant for 1996-97 has not yet been taken.
The total of the Department of Health special transitional grant and the transfer from Department of Social Security announced last year, is shown in the table. It should be noted that, apart from the special transitional grant, local authorities are not obliged to spend these amounts on community care ; nor need they be confined to these amounts.
£ million
|1994-95|1995-96|1996-97
-----------------------------------------------
Cash plans |1,274.5|1,838.0|2,256.0
1993-94 prices |1,225.5|1,703.4|2,039.8
Comparable figures for the Scottish Office, made up of the DSS transfer and the special grant for implementation and ILF successor arrangements, are as follows :
£ million
|1994-95|1995-96|1996-97
-----------------------------------------------
Cash plans |147.3 |158.0 |-
1993-94 prices |137.1 |142.2 |-
The figures for the Welsh Office were provided by my hon. Friend the Under- Secretary of State for Wales on 25 January, Official Report, column 229.
In Northern Ireland, the DSS transfer will be £65.3 million in 1994-95 and £100.3 million in 1995-96--£60.8 million and £90.2 million in 1993-94 prices.
In addition, the Department of Social Security plans to spend £120 million on successor arrangements to the independent living fund in 1994- 95, and approximately £1,830 million on benefits for those in residential or nursing home care prior to 1 April 1993. Figures for later years are not available.
Nora Heeren
Mr. Jamieson : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what instructions were given to Customs and Excise officers regarding the inspection of the Nora Heeren ;
(2) if the Customs and Excise conducted a full inspection of the cargo of the Nora Heeren.
Sir John Cope [holding answer 31 January 1994] : Customs officers were asked to inspect the cargo on board ship, and to inspect the ship's papers relating to it.
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A visual inspection of the cargo, stowed on deck, was carried out. Inspection of the ship's holds was also made so far as it was possible without offloading the cargo ashore.Mortgage Interest Relief
Ms Harman : To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what the reduction in mortgage interest relief will be in 1994-95 and 1995-96 for a taxpayer on the average income for households with a mortgage, and with an average mortgage, as a result of measures announced in the March and November 1993 Budgets ; and whether this information can be broken down to produce figures for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions ;
(2) what the reduction in mortgage interest relief will be in 1994-95 and 1995-96 for a taxpayer on average earnings with an average mortgage as a result of measures announced in the March and November 1993 Budgets ; and whether this information can be broken down to produce figures for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions.
Mr. Dorrell [holding answer 26 January 1994] : Assuming current levels of mortgage interest rates, the reduction in relief on the average mortgage of £30,000 will be £115.50 a year in 1994-95 and a further £115.50 in 1995-96. For those mortgagors who have mortgages of less than £30,000--about half of all mortgagors--the reduction in relief will be lower. A person with an average mortgage is benefiting by £1,920 a year as a result of the reduction in interest rates since 1990. Forecasts of the average size of mortgages in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the English regions are not available.
PRIME MINISTER
Nuclear Materials
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if he will raise at his forthcoming meeting with President Clinton the proliferation risks posed by the international trade in nuclear materials.
The Prime Minister : The agenda for my meeting with President Clinton has not yet been fixed.
No. 10 Downing Street
Mr. Nigel Griffiths : To ask the Prime Minister if he will commission a report on the estimated costs of (a) heating, (b) lighting and (c) non-catering staff arising from the use 10 Downing street by private organisations.
The Prime Minister : No. When charitable or other non-official events are held at 10 Downing street, the organisers are responsible for all catering and staff costs as well as other miscellaneous direct costs.
Scott Inquiry
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 23 November, Official Report, column 33, if he will now list the titles of papers his office has made available to the Scott inquiry.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to him on 5 March 1993, Official Report, column 306.
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Oceanographic Laboratory
Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Prime Minister what plans the Cabinet Office has for an investigation by the efficiency unit of the work of the Proudman oceanographic laboratory.
The Prime Minister : I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Kirkcaldy (Dr. Moonie) by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 16 June 1993, Official Report, column 611.
Public Bodies
Dr. Wright : To ask the Prime Minister which non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible have been (a) abolished or (b) created since 1979.
The Prime Minister : A full list of non-departmental public bodies, in existence for each year since 1979, is available in the following publications : "Report on Non-Departmental Public Bodies" (Pliatzky Report, Cm 7797, January 1980), "Non-Departmental Public Bodies : Facts and Figures 1980", "Non-Departmental Public Bodies : Facts and Figures 1981", and "Public Bodies", published annually from 1982. Copies of these publications are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
For each year since 1986, lists have been prepared centrally of public bodies which have been created and abolished. Copies will be sent to the Libraries of both Houses. Such summary data for the years 1979 to 1985 were not prepared and could be reconstructed only at disproportionate cost.
Meetings
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his practice to give substantive details of his meetings showing when he has met and plans to meet in replying to hon. Members' questions on his engagements ; and if he will make a statement.
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Iraq
Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list the companies of individuals which made the representations regarding the sale of machine tools to Iraq referred to in his answer to the hon. Member for Amber Valley (Mr. Oppenheim) of 24 November 1992, Official Report, column 580.
The Prime Minister : It would be inappropriate to comment on matters which are the subject of Lord Justice Scott's inquiry while it is in progress.
Engagements
Mr. Harry Greenway : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 1 February.
Sir Peter Tapsell : To ask the Prime Minister if he will list his official engagements for Tuesday 1 February.
The Prime Minister : This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.
Malaysia
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Prime Minister how many files marked "Not for NAO Eyes" relating to the Malaysian arms deal are held by (a) his secretariat and (b) the Cabinet Office.
Mr. Alan Williams : To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to his oral answer of 18 January, Official Report, column 704, what were the major categories of trade, with amounts and dates, that he included in his export figures to Malaysia of £5 billion.
The Prime Minister [holding answer 28 January 1994] : Information of the value of United Kingdom exports to Malaysia since 1982 is given in the table :
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United Kingdom exports to Malaysia
£ million, current prices
Section |1982 |1983 |1984 |1985 |1986 |1987 |1988 |1989 |1990 |1991 |1992 |1993<1> |Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 |Food and live animals |8.0 |10.9 |9.5 |7.6 |6.1 |6.9 |6.8 |9.0 |7.7 |12.5 |11.1 |16.2 |112.1
1 |Beverages and tobacco |2.3 |3.3 |3.2 |3.4 |3.4 |4.4 |4.2 |5.3 |7.6 |10.9 |10.0 |11.2 |69.2
2 |Crude materials, inedible, except
|fuels |1.9 |1.5 |1.4 |1.8 |1.4 |3.2 |11.9 |14.9 |21.2 |25.8 |24.3 |38.0 |147.1
3 |Mineral fuels, lubricants and related
|materials |1.6 |1.9 |1.8 |1.9 |1.5 |1.3 |1.3 |1.4 |5.5 |2.7 |2.3 |2.4 |25.5
4 |Animal and vegetable oils, fats and
|waxes |0.5 |0.2 |0.4 |0.4 |0.3 |0.3 |0.3 |0.4 |0.4 |0.4 |0.3 |0.5 |4.6
5 |Chemicals and related products |33.9 |41.8 |48.3 |56.4 |49.2 |45.6 |51.6 |56.4 |58.6 |58.3 |64.3 |65.3 |629.7
6 |Manufactured goods classified
|chiefly by material |26.0 |35.9 |45.0 |41.1 |26.7 |54.7 |56.8 |66.9 |75.0 |74.7 |79.0 |92.3 |674.1
7 |Machinery and transport equipment |109.8 |107.9 |133.3 |128.9 |96.8 |108.2 |145.7 |226.1 |335.4 |356.2 |361.5 |566.7 |2,676.5
8 |Miscellaneous manufactured articles |20.7 |24.2 |31.5 |31.6 |29.3 |25.9 |27.7 |35.1 |35.0 |37.2 |77.2 |56.5 |431.8
9 |Other commodities and transactions |6.0 |20.7 |8.9 |8.6 |12.3 |7.5 |4.0 |26.1 |4.2 |3.7 |5.8 |12.8 |120.5
|Total |210.6 |248.3 |283.1 |281.7 |226.9 |258.0 |310.4 |441.5 |550.7 |582.3 |635.9 |861.9 |4,891.2
<1> January to November 1993.
Notes: Trade categoriesed by Sections of the Standard International Trade Classification.
Source: Business Monitors MA20 and MM20, Overseas Trade Statistics of the United Kingdom.
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TRADE AND INDUSTRY
Paintings and Photographs
Mr. Boyes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to buy or borrow photographs ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Heseltine : I have no plans to buy or borrow any photographs.
Mr. Boyes : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many (a) paintings and (b) photographs there are on the walls of his rooms.
Mr. Heseltine : There are five paintings and no photographs on the walls of my office at the Department of Trade and Industry.
Tobacco
Ms Primarolo : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what Government grants or subsidies have been made to the tobacco industry in the United Kingdom or abroad in each of the last five years.
Mr. Sainsbury : The following regional selective assistance grants have been paid by the Government to the tobacco industry in the United Kingdom over the last five years. No other assistance has been made available, nor any abroad.
Financial year |Amount paid
|£
---------------------------------------------
1989-90 |357,285
1990-91 |78,128
1991-92 |19,505
1992-93 |521,502
1993-94 |232,768
Newsprint and Timber (Imports)
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what was the annual tonnage and the annual value of imports into the United Kingdom of (a) newsprint and (b) timber for each year since 1980.
Mr. Needham : The information is given in the table.
Annual tonnage and value of United Kingdom imports
Timber Newsprint
Year |Weight |Value |Weight |Value
|(thousand |(£ millions)|(thousand) |(£ millions)
|tonnes) |tonnes)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1980 |4,247 |680 |1,074 |283
1981 |3,763 |600 |1,306 |360
1982 |4,260 |669 |1,246 |377
1983 |5,068 |933 |1,244 |383
1984 |4,792 |1,001 |1,255 |398
1985 |4,362 |886 |1,217 |414
1986 |4,870 |994 |1,135 |391
1987 |5,570 |1,190 |n/a |n/a
1988 |6,161 |1,347 |1,459 |600
1989 |5,787 |1,415 |1,577 |660
1990 |5,340 |1,397 |1,308 |541
1991 |4,119 |1,033 |1,334 |574
1992 |4,254 |1,013 |1,333 |486
Notes:
The 1987 figures for newsprint are not separately available from
writing and printing paper due to commercial confidentiality.
Timber is classified under headings 245.01, 246, 247 and 248 of the
International Trade Classification. Newsprint is classified under heading
641.1.
Source: Business Monitor MA20, Overseas Trade Statistics of the
United Kingdom.
Oil and Gas Reserves
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what is his estimate of the proportion of United Kingdom oil and gas reserves which have so far been taken from offshore fields.
Mr. Eggar : Cumulative oil and gas production to the end of 1992 has been 1,560 million tonnes and 855 billion cu m respectively. The range of estimated reserves on the United Kingdom Continental Shelf--UKCS--that is, onshore and offshore, is as follows :
United Kingdom initially recoverable reserves (31 December
1992)
Oil Gas
Range of estimates (million tonnes)(billion cubic
metres)
|Lower |Upper |Lower |Upper
-------------------------------------------------------------
Discovered |2,170 |3,635 |1,465 |2,720
Potential additional
reserves |160 |500 |140 |325
Undiscovered |530 |3,370 |270 |1,277
|-------|-------|-------|-------
Total |2,860 |7,505 |1,875 |4,322
The data are published in table 7 on page 20 of my Department's "Development of the Oil and Gas Reserves of the United Kingdom", a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Part 2 of the publication provides more detail of the reserves and explains how they are estimated. The limits of the ranges should not be regarded as maxima and minima.
The figures do not provide an indication of the longevity of UKCS reserves. In recent years, the annual increment to estimates of reserves has often been larger than the amount produced in the year. At the end of 1992, for example, estimated remaining proven plus probable reserves of oil were about 135 million tonnes higher than the equivalent at the end of 1991 ; that is, the reserves increased by 230 million tonnes whilst production in 1992 was 94 million tonnes.
Exporters (Support)
Mr. Callaghan : To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to increase support for British exporters ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Needham : The Government are more than ever committed to helping United Kingdom companies win in overseas markets. To achieve this, we are developing a long-term export strategy, involving a partnership between Government and industry.
A particularly good example of the partnership being developed is the export promoter scheme. My Department is recruiting people with private sector experience, on secondment, to act as export promoters. Some 65 are already on board and actively helping business. These secondees bring to government a business oriented way of tackling problems and promoting export opportunities.
To guide the overall strategy for export promotion, market plans are being drawn up for each of the United Kingdom's top 80 overseas markets. This will help ensure
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that resources are focused to best effect. We are building on the strengths of the United Kingdom capital goods industry ; and targeting the overseas markets which offer the best prospects for those strengths.Over the past two years the Export Credits Guarantee
Department--ECGD--premium rates have been cut by more than a quarter. And in the last Budget the Government announced a further round of reductions-- some as high as 20 per cent.--for business with important emerging markets such as Argentina, India, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia and Turkey. By 1996-97, ECGD cover for key markets, where the risks are subject to special controls, will be virtually double the level available in 1991-92.
Over the next three years, the cover available for important markets like China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa will exceed £9 billion. This is in addition to an allocation of US$1 billion already set aside for business with the former Soviet Union. These initiatives will build substantially on the current matrix of support available to help our exporters. This will ensure that ever greater numbers of United Kingdom exporters get the first-class support they deserve to help them win in world markets.
Insolvency Service
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many bankruptcy and company case administrations were completed in each of the last five years (a) by the Insolvency Service and (b) by insolvency practitioners.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : (a) Official Receivers completed their administration, including handing over cases to insolvency practitioners where they have been appointed trustee or liquidator in place of the Official Receiver, of the following numbers of compulsory insolvencies :
|Bankruptcy|Company
--------------------------------------------
1989-90 |7,980 |3,861
1990-91 |10,799 |4,982
1991-92 |15,516 |5,900
1992-93 |16,169 |4,957
1993-94
(9 months) |16,751 |4,711
(b) Insolvency practitioners completed the administration in the following number of compulsory insolvencies :
|Bankruptcy|Company
--------------------------------------------
1989-90 |N/A |N/A
1990-91 |N/A |N/A
1991-92 |2,844 |857
1992-93 |3,024 |1,030
1993-94 |2,452 |861
(9 months)
The Insolvency Service does not maintain data on the number of voluntary liquidations completed in any year.
Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many successful fraudulent trading prosecutions there were in each of the last five years arising from investigations by (a) the Insolvency Service, (b) insolvency practitioners and (c) other bodies.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : Prosecutions by my Department for fraudulent trading resulted in 17 convictions in
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1989-90, 22 convictions in 1990-91, 11 convictions in 1991-92, 24 convictions in 1992-93 and 26 convictions so far in 1993-94. Records are not kept in such a form that information about the origin of all these cases is readily available, but I can say that 19 of the convictions in 1992-93 arose from investigations by the Insolvency Service, and that 24 of the convictions in 1993-94 arose from such investigations.Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many disqualification reports were received by the Insolvency Service in each of the last five years from (a) the Official Receiver and (b) insolvency practitioners.
Mr. Neil Hamilton : The number of disqualification reports received was as follows :
------------------------------ 1988-89 |1,204|3,005 1989-90 |1,358|2,086 1990-91 |1,617|2,891 1991-92 |2,402|3,769 1992-93 |2,657|4,053 9 months to 31 December 1993 |2,487|2,841
A report is received where at least some element of unfit conduct on the part of the director(s) has been identified. Unfit conduct may vary from, for example, an isolated delay in complying with requirements relating to the production and filing of accounts and returns at Companies House to a failure to safeguard deposit monies received from members of the public. It would not therefore be appropriate to institute disqualification proceedings in every case in which a report is submitted.
Phoenix Companies
Mr. Waterson : To ask the President of the Board of Trade on how many occasions his Department has instigated criminal prosecutions in each of the years 1991, 1992 and 1993 in relation to possible offences involving the use of phoenix companies ; and if he will make a statement.
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