§ 38. Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why it took his Department until 20 May to reply to the letters of 12 January, 13 February, and the parliamentary question of 26 February concerning the hon. Member for Newham, North-West's complaints of interminable delays in dealing with correspondence; and whether he will take action to expedite replies in the future.
§ Mrs. ChalkerI am sorry that the final reply to the hon. Member's representations was delayed. As I explained in my reply to his question on 16 April—[Vol. 982, c.625–626]—the Department handles a very large volume of correspondence both from the general public and from hon. Members. Every letter is given the fullest consideration and our aim is to provide a reply as quickly as is possible. Correspondence is dealt with as fast as staff resources permit.