asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange that letters addressed by detained persons to Members of Parliament shall be exempted from the normal ration of correspondence allowable in Her Majesty's prisons and institutions.

An inmate in a prison, borstal or detention centre who receives a letter from a Member of Parliament which calls for a reply may be allowed a special letter for the purpose. In addition, after two months in custody, he may be allowed one special letter to initiate correspondence with a Member of Parliament. I regret that in present circumstances it would not be practicable to increase this allowance.