§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give the reasons why it took him until 9th July to reply to the hon. Member for Newham. North-West's letter of 5th June concerning the Lotteries Act 1975 and that this only referred to another letter which had been sent to his constituent; why it took him 425W until 9th July to reply to this letter dated 2nd June; and whether he will expedite his replies to Members' letters in the future.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe delay in replying to these letters, which I regret, was due partly to staff sickness and partly to the volume of correspondence which we received about the Lotteries Act consultative document. I sent my hon. Friend a copy of the reply sent to his constituent, as this covered all the points raised. Every effort is made to reply to Members' letters as rapidly as possible.