To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which bodies have applied for recognition as recognised supervisory bodies for the auditing and accounting professions; which of these applicants have offered evidence of how they propose to select their controlling bodies from their membership; and what account he intends to take of the accountability of their controlling body to their membership when offering recognition.

On the applicants for recognition, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey, North-West (Mr. Grylls) on 19 December, at columns 184–85.Neither a supervisory body's arrangements for the selection of its governing body, nor the accountability of that governing body to the membership are directly relevant to the question whether the body satisfies the requirements for recognition in part II of the Companies Act 1989. What is relevant is the adequacy of the body's rules and of its arrangements for monitoring and enforcing compliance with them.