§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will give the average time taken by his Department to send formal acknowledgments 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 taxpayers and their elected representatives.
§ Mr. John GrantLetters which are to be answered by Ministers of my Department are usually acknowledged on the day of receipt in the Department and we endeavour to reply within two weeks. However, when detailed investigations have to be made at local offices throughout the country or, in some cases, in other countries, replies may take longer than two weeks and an interim reply will be sent in the meantime. A full reply will then follow as soon as possible. This has been our practice for several years.
Where letters are answered by officials of my Department on behalf of
240WEssex County Council area in the financial years 1975–76 and 1976–77.
§ Mr. John Fraser,pursuant to his reply [Official Report, 26th May 1977; Vol. 432, c. 600], gave the following information:
Ministers, they are instructed to acknowledge the letter and reply in full promptly.