§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What advice they have given to Mr. Derek Lewis, the Director General of the Prison Service, about the length of time he should take to reply to Members' letters, and how they will monitor their expectation that Members will receive replies as quickly as possible.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)The Director General has a target of replying to all correspondence from Members of Parliament within 35 calendar days of receipt. If the correspondence raises a matter of particular urgency it will be dealt with more quickly.
The Prison Service has developed its own arrangements for monitoring its performance against this target. Central monitoring within the Home Office will continue to include correspondence which is dealt with by the Director General.