§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he will give the average time taken by his Department to send formal acknowledgements of receipt and replies to letters sent to him generally and by Members of Parliament in particular; how these times compare with a stated period as long ago as may be conveniently recorded; and what action he has taken or intends taking to expedite these replies to the taxpayer and their elected representatives.
§ Mr. VarleyAll letters sent to me are acknowledged on the day of receipt. I148W cannot justify the expense which would be involved in calculating the average time taken by my Department to reply, but replies are sent in the majority of cases within 10 working days of receipt. Where it is not possible to prepare a reply within that time—for example, because of the degree of research or consultation involved, or because the officials concerned are located outside London—an interim reply is sent. I am always anxious to improve the efficiency of my Department, but I believe the time we take to deal with correspondence is in general not unreasonable.