§ Mr. David YoungTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many communications he has received from Members of the European Parliament since 18 June 1989, that concern local or United Kingdom matters; and if he will make it his practice where such matters are involved to provide the hon. Member for the local constituency with a copy of the correspondence and the reply for information.
§ Mr. MaudeWhere Members of the European Parliament raise matters in correspondence which are exclusively of local interest, the practice is to reply suggesting that the MEP should refer the matter to the hon. Member for the constituency concerned. As with other correspondence, replies to such communications would normally be copied to the hon. Member concerned only if the MEP had himself copied his letter in this way. We have received no such communications since 18 June 1989.
A separate arrangement applies in respect of consular cases, under which our normal practice is to copy correspondence with MEPs to the appropriate hon. Member in view of the direct personal involvement in such cases of hon. Members' constituents.