§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why no reply has been sent to a letter of 23 July 2004 addressed to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills from Mr David Cannon, chair of the Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers, or to the reminder from the Lord Avebury of 29 December 2004; and whether they will apologise to Mr Cannon for the delay. [HL1064]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin)Mr Cannon's letter dated 23 July was unfortunately mislaid within the department. A letter of apology and full response was sent on 29 January. There was a further delay in responding to Lord Avebury's letter of reminder of 29 December due to a backlog of invitations following the appointment of the new Secretary of State. A letter of apology was also sent to Lord Avebury on 29 January, enclosing a copy of the letter sent to Mr Cannon.