§ Mr. Arthur LewisQ16 and Q17. asked the Prime Minister (1) whether he will take action to ensure that the general rule that Ministers should not keep Members of Parliament waiting for excessive periods for replies to their correspondence is adhered to in view of the three month delay concerning a reply experienced by the hon. Member for West Ham, North;
(2) whether he will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain why the hon. Member for West Ham, North was kept waiting for over three months for a reply to his communication of the 2nd November, 1970, concerning the treatment under the National Health Service of one of his constituents, details of which have been supplied to him; and whether he will make a statement.
§ The Prime MinisterMy instructions to Ministers are that replies to correspondence from Members of Parliament should be sent at the earliest possible moment, although I do not think that it makes sense to apply a single fixed time 87W limit in every instance. I have asked my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services to look into the particular case to which the hon. Member refers.