§ Mr. Austin-WalkerTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what representations he has received from Mr. David Hernandez Purnell; and what was his response;
(2) if he will make a statement regarding the letter of 13 November to the Treasury Solicitor from a constituent of the hon. Member for Woolwich, a copy of which was forwarded to the citizens charter unit; and what assessment he has made of the conformity of Her 484W Majesty's Government's action in this case with the spirit of the citizens charter.
Mr. Robert G. HughesMr. Hernandez Purnell has been a frequent correspondent with Government Departments about the purchase of both his and his son's property by the Department of Transport. He has written over 400 letters to the Department of Transport alone. Further correspondence in which Mr. Hernandez Purnell himself has inquired about the role of the citizens charter in his complaint has been answered by officials from the citizens charter unit, and letters from the hon. Member of 3 and 22 September 1993 concerning Mr. Hernandez Purnell were replied to on 30 September 1993 by the then Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
The citizens charter and the citizens charter unit have only an indirect role in Mr. Hernandez Purnell's dispute with the Department of Transport. The role of the citizens charter unit is to work with Departments in developing their services in line with the principles of the citizens charter, and to encourage good practice in doing this. When members of the public write to the citizens charter unit, the unit tries to ensure that a prompt, full and clear reply is sent. Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of individual public sector organisations, including Government Departments, to ensure that their services are delivered to charter standards. Where—as in Mr. Hernandez Purnell's case—correspondence from a member of the public concerns a dispute about departmental policy which is also the subject of legal proceedings, it is not the role of the citizens charter unit to act as an intermediary.