§ Mr. NellistTo ask the Prime Minister why Mr. Dennis Griffiths, of 25 Grant road, Stoke, Coventry, has not yet received a substantive reply to his letter of 24 June, following her acknowledgement of its receipt; and if she will make a statement.
771W
§ The Prime MinisterI receive an enormous number of letters each week from Members of Parliament and members of the public. It is not possible for me to deal with all these letters personally and I must accordingly refer most of them to the Minister and the Department with the responsibility for the policy in question.
Mr. Griffiths' letter of 26 June was sent an acknowledgement on 20 July and the letter was passed that day to the Department of Social Security for further action. I understand that a response was sent by the Department of Social Security on 13 December 1989. I very much regret the long delay.