§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Lord Privy Seal why his letter of 21 May replying to the communication sent to him by the hon. Member for Newham, North-West on 3 April concerning the entry of Mrs. Patel to the United Kingdom 353W was not posted until 26 May; and whether he will both expedite replies to correspondence and see that these are posted on the date signed.
§ Mr. LuceAs the hon. Member knows, my letter was a follow-up to my undertaking in a letter to the hon. Member of 30 April to make inquiries of one of our posts abroad. This inevitably takes time.
It is always my objective to dispatch letters on the date of signature. My letter of 21 May to the hon. Member was signed late that day. The bank holiday period, which for Government Departments began on Friday 22 May, then intervened. It was because of these unusual circumstances that the letter was not posted until 26 May. I apologise to the hon. Member for any inconvenience caused.