§ Mr. KeetchTo ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will pay the postal costs of voluntary bodies and registered charities requested to respond to Government consultation documents; and if he will make a statement. [80916]
§ Mr. MichaelWhen voluntary bodies and registered charities are invited to respond to a Welsh Office consultation paper, postal costs are not covered automatically. The Department would consider any claim on its merits, taking account of such factors as the nature of the organisation, the scale of the consultation exercise and the information requested.
The Welsh Office does not pay postal costs incurred by organisations responding to consultation from other Government Departments. It is for individual Departments to decide whether to cover these.