To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the annual cost was of action by the Insolvency Service to investigate and pursue cases of director disqualification under the Insolvency Acts in each of the last three years. (131138)

Since 1 April 2003, the Insolvency Service’s activities in the investigation and enforcement area have been funded by a DTI programme budget and from the recovery of costs awarded against disqualified directors as follows:

These figures can be found in the Insolvency Service’s published accounts that are laid in Parliament annually in July. The 2006-07 figure is not yet available but will be published in July 2007.

The cost of investigation and enforcement includes not only the cost of directors disqualification but also the reporting by official receivers of possible criminal offences and from 1 April 2004, work on Bankruptcy Restrictions Orders and Undertakings.

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the decision by the Insolvency Service not to prosecute certain cases of potential director disqualification due to lack of resources; and if he will make a statement. (131140)

In order to ensure the best use of available resources, the most serious potential disqualification cases are prioritised using a rigorous categorisation system. A total of 1,200 directors were disqualified in the year to 31 March 2007 compared to 1,173 disqualified in the year to 31 March 2006.