§ 25. Mr. David Steelasked the Lord President of the Council whether he will initiate proposals to establish facilities for free correspondence between Members and the public.
§ The Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons (Mr. James Prior)If the hon. Gentleman would like to put specific proposals to me, I would certainly consider whether they should be referred to the Services Committee.
§ Mr. SteelWill the Lord President consult the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications about the advisability of creating a free post address for the House of Commons, so that members of the public may write in free of charge? This principle is already accepted in many Government Departments which send reply paid envelopes with their communications.
§ Mr. PriorOn the whole, my answer must be "No". Such a facility might well be open to abuse. It is not asking too much of a constituent who has a genuine point to raise with a Member that he should put a 2½p stamp on the letter or visit his Member in his constituency. However, if there is a serious demand for this service in the House I will consider it, and ask the Services Committee to consider it. I believe that, on the whole, our practice has worked pretty well.