§ Mr. Hugh Jenkinsasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what is his practice in replying to members of the public who write to him direct in respect of deficiencies in the hospital service; and how long a reply normally takes to reach a correspondent.
§ Sir K. JosephI regret that it is not possible for me to reply personally to everyone who writes to me but my Department aims to deal thoroughly and as quickly as possible with such complaints. Inquiries generally have to be made of the regional hospital board and often by the board of the hospital management committee concerned. Statistics of the kind requested are not readily available.