§ 6. Mr. Gareth Wardellasked the Secretary of State for Wales when his Department delivered the letter sent on 24 February to the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, the hon. Member for Newport, West (Mr. Robinson) from the hon. Member for Gower to the inspector holding the public inquiry at the Guildhall, Swansea, on 5 and 6 March into an appeal for residential development at Killan Fach farm, Dunvant, Swansea.
§ Mr. Mark RobinsonA copy of the hon. Member's letter was sent by first-class post from the Department's Cardiff office to the inspector's home address on 3 March.
§ Mr. WardellTo avoid any future possible embarrassment to right hon. and hon. Members, will the Welsh Office ensure that when Members of this place attend public inquiries steps are taken to enable inspectors to receive their submissions before the inquiries commence?
§ Mr. RobinsonWe do whatever we can in these matters. The inspector was informed that the representation was on its way. Unfortunately, its delivery was delayed and it did not arrive on time. The hon. Gentleman's original letter was received by the Department only on 26 February, so time was short in any event. I assure the hon. Gentleman that we are reviewing our arrangements to try to ensure that this sort of thing does not happen again.