To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will bring forward proposals to prevent auditors from taking appointments as liquidators, administrators or receivers; and if he will consult the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland about the necessary changes to their rules.

I have no plans to do so. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland have published ethical guidelines for their members and these preclude any firm, or member of that firm, which has had a "continuing professional relationship" with any company from accepting an appointment as an insolvency practitioner in respect of it. In this way conflicts of interest are avoided, particularly between those who may have acted as auditors to the company and any subsequent liquidator.