asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what checks are made by the Registry of Friendly Societies of building society minutes and other documents, to monitor whether directors declare their interest in organisations to which their societies make mortgage advances.

Minutes of building societies' board meetings are not statutorily required to be submitted to the registry, and so are not available for scrutiny by the registry. They may be examined by registry staff during the course of inspection visits to societies, if other circumstances suggest that in the particular case there is a need to do so.