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3 July 2006 : Column 850Wcontinued
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Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2006, Official Report, column 1576W, on the Business Review, how he plans to ensure that the information on companies' relationships with suppliers will be comparable (a) between companies and (b) over time. [80697]
Margaret Hodge:
As clause 399 (4) of the Company Law Reform Bill sets out, the Business Review is required to be a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the company's business consistent with the size and complexity of the business. There is no explicit requirement for companies to report on their relationships with suppliers. Where reporting on relationships with suppliers is necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of the company's business, it will be for the directors to consider what type of information to include in their review. The purpose of the Business Review is to inform members of the company and help them assess how the directors have performed their duty under clause 158 (duty to promote the success of the company). The statutory provisions therefore set out the framework of the Business Review, but it is for directors of each company to determine its content according to the circumstances of the particular
company. These are matters for the directors' judgment and it is for the company's shareholders to hold the directors to account.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to the answer of 19 June 2006, Official Report, column 1576W, on the Business Review, what (a) financial and (b) non-financial key performance indicators companies will be required to use when reporting on their relationships with suppliers in the Business Review; what estimate he has made of how many companies will be required to report on their relationships with overseas suppliers under the provisions of clause 399 of the Company Law Reform Bill; what types of information companies will be required to include in their reports on relationships with overseas suppliers within the Business Review; what the provisions are of the Company Law Reform Bill which will oblige companies to include information on relationships with suppliers; whether he plans to introduce statutory guidance on what types of information on supplier relationships must be included in the Business Review; and if he will make a statement. [80865]
Margaret Hodge: Companies must include financial and non-financial key performance indicators in their Business Review to the extent necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of the company's business. The review is required to be a balanced and comprehensive analysis of the company's business consistent with the size and complexity of the business, but there is no explicit requirement for companies to report on their relationships with suppliers. Where reporting on relationships with supplierswhether domestic or overseasis necessary for an understanding of the development, performance or position of the company's business, it will be for the directors to consider what type of information to include in their review. This is a matter for the directors' judgment and it is for the company's shareholders to hold the directors to account. We will be debating the Business Review provisions in Committee.
Mr. Martlew: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many firms in the Carlisle district council area have (a) started and (b) ceased trading in each year since 1995. [80328]
Margaret Hodge: Value-added tax (VAT) registrations and deregistrations are the best official guide to the pattern of business starts and closures. DTI figures based solely on VAT registrations and deregistrations for Carlisle local authority are shown in the table for 1995 to 2004 inclusive. Data for 2005 will be available in autumn 2006. For comparison, the VAT-registered business stock in Carlisle is also shown.
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