§ 42. Sir Herbert Williamsasked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether his attention has been drawn to the serious delays by Government Departments in dealing with correspondence, and whether he will cause steps to be taken to accelerate the internal movements of papers in Government Departments?
§ The Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Captain Crookshank)No, Sir, but Departments are, I am satisfied, alive to the need for dealing with correspondence with as little delay as possible. My hon. Friend will, I hope, appreciate that many of the matters raised in correspondence require exhaustive consideration, either by 813 various branches of the Department to which the letter is addressed or in consultation with other Departments. In these circumstances, and in view of the present extreme pressure of work, delay is in some cases unavoidable, but every effort is made to reduce this to a minimum.
§ Sir H. WilliamsIs the Financial Secretary aware that a large part of the delay is due to the fact that the ordinary civil servant is not permitted to come to a decision, but that about half-a-dozen have to play a part; that the time of transmission of a document from room to room is about a day, and that in consequence there is a long delay in answering correspondence for which there is no conceivable justification?
§ Captain CrookshankThe hon. Member has himself been a Minister and is no doubt aware of the difficulties.
§ Sir H. WilliamsIs my right hon. and gallant Friend aware that when I was a Minister I made a protest? May I express the hope that he will do the same?