§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it took him until 12th January 1978 to reply to the communication sent to him by the 540W hon. Member for Newham, North-West on 11th November 1977 concerning his constituent Mr. E. A. Forecast; what was contained in his reply which could not have been sent much earlier; and whether he will take action to expedite replies to correspondents in general and hon. Members in particular.
§ Mr. DeakinsThis letter was received in my office on Thursday, 17th November. Detailed inquiries had to be made into Mr. Forecast's entitlement to unemployment benefit before a reply could be sent to my hon. Friend. However, I regret that there were delays in the handling of this correspondence which were further extended by the Christmas holiday. We aim to reply to all correspondents as quickly as possible.