§ Mr. AshtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment why it took from 11 April to 30 May for his Department to decide that a letter from the hon. Member for Bassetlaw regarding redundancy payments at Rexo was the responsibility of the Department of Energy.
§ Mr. CopeThe hon. Member's letter was received by my Department on 19 April. My Department considered that the issue was the responsibility of the Department of Energy and the letter was forwarded to them on 21 April. Subsequently checks showed that the letter had been lost in transit. Action was taken immediately to despatch a further copy. I apologise for the delay.