asked the Secretary of State for Trade how many companies have been declared bankrupt in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how this compares with the previous 12 months.

As the hon. Member will be aware, company insolvencies can be divided into compulsory and creditors' voluntary liquidations, and certain provisions differ in Scotland from those in England and Wales. It would be misleading to add all these figures together. Statistics of liquidations are contained in the report "Companies in 1974", and previous annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.The figures for compulsory and creditors' voluntary liquidations of companies most readily available are as follows:—copies of which have been placed in the Library. The average number of passengers handled daily in the six months January to June in each of the last three years is as follows: