§ Sir Geoffrey Finsbergasked the Secretary of State for Social Services for what information, which was not available at the time, he was waiting in order to respond to the hon. Member for Hampstead and Highgate's letter of 15 September 1986 concerning his constituent Mr. S. Grainger which delayed his response until 19 January 1987.
§ Mr. LyellThe delay in replying to my hon. Friend's letter was not caused by the need to obtain further information. Essential work on the reform of social security has meant that I have not been always able to reply to hon. Members' letters as quickly as I should have liked. I apologise to my hon. Friend for the delay in this particular case.