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Mr. Mitchell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade what factors governed those interests represented on the sponsored Insolvency Regulation Working Party. [31233]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths: The Insolvency Regulation Working Party was established by the insolvency recognised professional bodies and The Insolvency Service and its members are representatives of them.
Mr. Mitchell: To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will list (a) the number of complaints per annum received by each of the bodies responsible for regulating insolvency practitioners, (b) the nature of the complaints, (c) the average and the longest time taken to investigate the complaints and (d) the nature of the outcomes in each of the last five years. [31200]
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Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
The number of complaints about insolvency practitioners received by each of the bodies for the period in question are in the table.
| 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales | 272 | 263 | 246 | 325 | 319 |
| Insolvency Practitioners Association | 166 | 161 | 160 | 115 | 120 |
| Law Society | 1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland | 12 | 47 | 39 | 18 | 11 |
| Association of Chartered Certified Accountants | 5 | 23 | 38 | 41 | 30 |
| Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| The Law Society of Scotland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Secretary of State | 72 | 84 | 81 | 36 | 45 |
| Total | 532 | 587 | 567 | 540 | 534 |
Information about the nature of the complaints, the average and longest time taken to investigate the complaints and the nature of the outcome is either not available or could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Regulatory action was taken by the professional bodies in appropriate cases but the majority of complaints, after investigation, revealed no evidence of misconduct.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade how many (a) firms and (b) individuals are registered with each of the bodies responsible for authorising insolvency practitioners under the Insolvency Act 1986. [31234]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
Only individuals may be authorised to act as insolvency practitioners. The numbers authorised by each of the bodies are as follows:
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales | 844 |
| Insolvency Practitioners Association | 308 |
| Law Society | 184 |
| Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland | 168 |
| Association of Chartered Certified Accountants | 127 |
| Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland | 73 |
| The Law Society of Scotland | 22 |
| Secretary of State | 125 |
These figures will be published in the next Insolvency Service Annual Report.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what proposals she has for requiring those licensed under the Insolvency Act 1986 to publish information about their affairs. [31339]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
None at this stage. However, I will give careful consideration to any submissions that my hon. Friend may wish to make about this matter.
Mr. Mitchell:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what actions her Department has taken in respect of accountancy firms and their partners judged by the High Court case of AGIP (Africa) Limited v. Jackson and Co. to have facilitated money laundering. [31340]
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Mr. Ian McCartney:
We have kept under review all the investigations undertaken on this matter. Action against money laundering is not, however, the responsibility of this Department. The remarks made during the civil case were considered by the appropriate bodies--by the Serious Fraud Office and the Police (with regard to criminal prosecution), and by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) (with a view to possible disciplinary action). After investigation no basis for any action was found.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will assess the advantages of introducing legislation to limit the maximum share of the newspaper market individual proprietors may control. [31102]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths
[holding answer 24 February 1998]: The Government's Competition Bill sets out the legislation we believe is necessary to control abuses of market dominance. The newspaper industry will be subject to this, and to other provisions in competition law.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) what monitoring she has undertaken of the effectiveness of non-insurance based warranties for motor vehicles; what assessment she has made of the safety implications of such warranties; and if she will make a statement; [31119]
(3) what assessment she has made of the impact on consumers of an increase in the sale of non-insurance based warranties sold by the provider of the motor vehicle. [31116]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths
[holding answer 25 February 1998]: The Government's policy on the sale of non-insurance based motor vehicle warranties was set out by the Financial Secretary in her reply of 12 February 1998, Official Report, column 389.
The supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 requires repairs undertaken under warranty to be carried out with reasonable care and skill. If either these implied terms or the specific conditions of the warranty are breached the consumer may look to the seller for redress.
Mr. Alasdair Morgan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) if she will make a statement on the risks for car purchasers relying solely on non- insurance based motor vehicle warranties if (a) the vehicle seller goes out of business and (b) there is only limited financial backing behind a non-insurance based warranty scheme; [31118]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths:
[holding answer 25 February 1998]: During 1997, there were 132 company insolvencies in the motor vehicle retailing and filling station sector in England and Wales. In addition, there
2 Mar 1998 : Column: 460
were 276 bankruptcies involving non-limited liability companies in this sector. Comparable figures for Scotland are not available.
No figures are available for the number of purchasers who have lost non-insurance based warranties on their vehicles as a result of these failures.
Motor vehicle suppliers offering non-insurance backed warranties are responsible for ensuring that they are properly financed so that they are able to fulfil their obligations to their customers. Consumers for their part need to weigh up the costs and benefits of competing products taking into account among other things the reputation and financial standing of the company offering the warranty.
Mr. Grogan:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans she has to strengthen the powers of the Independent Committee for Supervision of Telephone Services to enforce its decisions on network operators. [31461]
Mrs. Roche:
ICSTIS has a wide range of sanctions available to act against breaches of the ICSTIS Code of Practice and the ICSTIS system of regulation has the commitment and support from network operators. I am confident of the effectiveness of ICSTIS in regulating this market using its existing powers together with the continuing support of the industry.
Mr. David Marshall:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade, pursuant to her answer of 22 December 1998, Official Report, column 522, when she expects to announce her decision on the Monopolies and Mergers Commission report relating to First Bus operations in Glasgow; and if she will make a statement. [31901]
Mr. Nigel Griffiths
[holding answer 27 February 1998]: My right hon. Friend, the President of the Board of Trade, will announce her decision on First Bus's request for a review of the decision of the then Minister for Corporate and Consumer Affairs as quickly as is practicable.
Mr. Baker:
To ask the President of the Board of Trade on what dates her Department has met representatives of Imutran; and what matters were discussed. [31685]
Mr. Battle
[holding answer 27 February 1998]: DTI officials visited Imutran on 3 November 1995 and have met Imutran representatives on a number of other occasions during the last 3 years. These contacts were part of the Department's normal contact with companies in the biotechnology industry and other sectors to discuss issues affecting the competitiveness of UK industry.
(2) what is her policy on the sale of non-insurance based warranties; and if she will make a statement; [31120]
(2) if she will estimate the number of motor vehicle sellers who have gone out of business in 1997, indicating the number of purchasers who have lost non-insurance based warranties on their vehicles as a result of such business failures. [31117]
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