§ Mr. Topeasked the Secretary of State for the Environment why it is his Department's practice not to correspond with individual councillors on planning matters relating to their areas.
§ Mr. Graham PageThe Department will always try to help inquirers on factual matters but the merits of planning and other decisions taken by local authorities are essentially for those authorities themselves to consider. Thus the Department prefers to correspond on such subjects only with an official spokesman of the council such as the chairman of the council or of the council's planning committee or an appropriate officer acting on the council's behalf.