§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on answering parliamentary questions in respect of bodies given agency status.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerI or the responsible Minister will reply on agency policy issues and on any other matters which do not fall within the responsibility of the chief executive. The chief executives will reply on matters within their areas of responsibility, because they are best placed to do so. This policy is described in the framework documents of the United Kingdom Passport Agency and the Forensic Science Service, copies of which were placed in the Library in April. It has been recently restated in the Government's reply to the seventh report from the Treasury and Civil Service Committee (Cm 1761).