§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the text of the letter sent by the Minister of Trade to the hon. Member for West Ham, North, under date of 15th September, concerning alleged neglect and maladministration on the part of his Department in dealing with company matters and the reply sent by the hon. Member dated 16th September, 1972.
§ Mr. NobleNo, but the hon. Member is of course free to publish the correspondence if he wishes. The confidentiality marking on my letter of 15th September was, as the hon. Member was informed in my Private Secretary's letter of 21st September, included in error.
§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why it took him until 28th September to reply to the communication sent to him on 9th August by the hon. Member for West Ham, North concerning alleged neglect upon the part of his Department in dealing with matters concerning the Companies Act; what information as contained in his reply was not available for sending before 28th September; and whether he will expedite replies in the future.
§ Mr. NobleThe matter required careful consideration, and an interim reply to this effect was sent to the hon. Member on 4th September. I shall continue to deal with all his letters as promptly as their subject matter allows.