§ 36. Mr. van Straubenzeeasked the Attorney-General what is the machinery for consultation between his Department and solicitors attached to other Government departments on the form of letters written in on legal matters in connection with the affairs of that department and addressed to the citizens involved.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralThe form of letters between Departments and members of the public on legal subjects is a matter for the Departments concerned and their legal advisers. It is open to the Departments to consult the Law Officers in cases of difficulty as they arise.
§ Mr. van StraubenzeeNevertheless, would the hon. and learned Gentleman not feel disposed to send for the kind of letter which the solicitor for the Land Commission is addressing to small levy payers who are not exempted by the last Finance Bill—and, by definition, therefore are small people? In the view of many people, the letters contain threats which are quite improper as applied to the small person in the various constituencies.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI think that it should be a matter for the legal advisers of Departments to determine cases in which it is thought desirable to consult with the Law Officers. I do not respond very favourably to the thought that the Law Officers should send for such letters.
§ Sir P. RawlinsonHaving regard to what my hon. Friend has just said, would it not be advisable for the Law Officers to look at the correspondence themselves?
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI am ready to consider this, certainly, and to look at the letters to which the hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr. van Straubenzee) has referred. However, I am answering a Question about departmental practice, and I hope that the right hon. and learned Gentleman will agree that, on the whole, the existing practice works very well and that these matters are usually properly and satisfactorily initiated by the legal officers in the Departments.