asked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when he expects to announce his response to the representations which he has received on his Department's consultative document on the European Community's eighth directive.

I shall make an announcement as soon as possible. My hon. Friend will appreciate, though, that it may take some time to complete our analysis of the many responses to the consultative document and carry out such further consultations with the accountancy profession and other representative bodies as may he desirable before decisions on future policy can be taken.

I am grateful to my hon. and learned Friend for his reply. However, will he confirm that the overwhelming consensus of the representations that he has received through his Department's consultation paper have confirmed that there should not be a rotation of auditors and, moreover, that there should not he any ban on accounting firms being able to offer a range of professional services to their clients?

As the analysis is not yet complete, I am not sure that I can accede to my hon. Friend's question in quite the terms that he puts it. However, I can tell him that the suggestions to which he has referred have proved to be somewhat less than universally popular.