§ Mr. Geoffrey RobinsonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his policy, when dealing with letters of complaint about agencies within his responsibility, on passing the letters to the relevant agency for reply; 101W and how this policy was put into effect in respect of the letter of 10 December 1990 from the chairman of Coventry's environmental services committee.
§ Mr. TrippierThe policy in regard to dealing with complaints about an executive agency is decided on its merits when drawing up the particular agency's policy and resources framework document. Generally we encourage direct contact with the chief executive on matters of day-to-day agency operation, but Ministers will deal with cases raising questions of policy direction or resource allocation and where a Member of Parliament specifically seeks a reply.
However, the policy is not relevant to the handling of the letter of 10 December 1990 since HM inspectorate of pollution is not yet an agency.