§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will publish in the Official Report the text of the letter from his Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State to selected Members of Parliament regarding the treatment of letters sent to him at the Department regarding the Government's policy on bus services.
§ Mr. RidleyFollowing is the text of the letter
BUSESOur proposals to introduce competition into local bus services will bring a major shift from the present, operator-orientated system, to one which puts the bus passenger and the customer first.Not surprisingly many operators, their representative organisations and a number of councillors—particularly those with municipal bus undertakings—are agitating against our proposals. A substantial amount of ratepayers' money is now being spent on campaigns to discredit our plans, and there has already been a good deal of distortion. Some opponents, for example, have even stooped to frightening the elderly by saying that concessionary fares will end, and that rural dwellers will be cut off from their bus services.In the light of this I thought that you might like to have a personal copy of the Department's leaflet which explains the new policy. You may already have had one for passing on to a constituent. Further copies are available from the Vote office.You might also find the enclosed article useful in preparing speeches, press handouts or features for your local paper.No doubt when your local press carry reports of any speech which you have made there will be opposing articles, or letters to the Editor, some of which you will want to reply to. If you need further information for that purpose, please let my know by writing to me at the Department of Transport. I will try to reply personally more quickly than I would normally be able to so that you can answer what has been written while it is still in readers' memories. If you need such an urgent reply, it would help if you could say so at the beginning of your letter.I hope this will be helpful to you in winning the argument in your constituency.
§ Mrs. Dunwoodyasked the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on his practice in replying to letters from Members of Parliament on matters for which he is responsible; and what are his criteria for deciding priorities in replying to such letters.
§ Mr. RidleyAll letters sent to Ministers are dealt with as expeditiously as possible.