§ Mr. Terry DavisTo ask the Prime Minister whether the policy of the Government with regard to correspondence between hon. Members and officials remains as set out in the letter from the hon. Member for Mid-Worcestershire (Mr. Forth) to the hon. Member for Birmingham, Hodge Hill, of 18 May 1989.
§ The Prime MinisterIt is for Ministers in each Department to decide how correspondence will be handled. Following the recent scrutiny of ministerial correspondence, Departments are considering how to assist Members of Parliament to direct their inquiries to the point which is best able to give them a fast, informed and helpful reply.
The Government reply to the eighth report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee—Cmnd 1263—states that Ministers will normally ask the chief executive of an agency to reply to letters that concern day-to-day operational matters delegated to the agency.