§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what is the actual or estimated daily, weekly or monthly mail which he receives; what staff he has to deal with it; why it took him until 3rd February for him to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Newham North-West, dated 17th January 1978; what was contained in this letter which could or should not have been sent within days of receipt; and what action he has taken or will take to expedite his replies to letters received from hon. Members and the general taxpayer.
§ Mr. Harold LeverI receive a varying but substantial amount of mail, including letters such as the one to which my hon. Friend refers, relating to the problems facing small firms. Apart from my private office, I have two officials working for me. The interval of some days was required in order to ensure that up-to-date information on the matters to which the letter referred was before me, in case any recent developments should prove relevant to the reply. In fact on this occasion there were none.