A meeting with senior officials in my department was offered to the representative group in question and this was rejected. While I make every effort to meet with as many stakeholders as possible, it is not always possible to commit to every meeting request. It is normal and productive practice for my officials to meet with interest groups on my behalf and it is regrettable that the offer of a meeting was refused in this instance. I would suggest that the group would reconsider the offer of a meeting in order to give them an opportunity to raise their concerns at departmental level at the earliest time possible.