§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will publish the latest figures showing the volume of correspondence received by Ministers and agency chief executives from hon. Members in 2000, indicating the target times set for replies and the replies sent within those target times. [157532]
§ Marjorie MowlamThe following table sets out Departments' and Agencies' performance in handling hon. Members' correspondence during the 2000 calendar year. It also sets out comparative figures for 1999 325W (first published on 17 April 2000, Official Report, columns 386–89W). I am pleased to report that the table shows a steady improvement in overall performance.
326WHon. Members' attention is drawn to the footnotes which accompany the table and which provide general background information on how the figures are compiled.
327W
Correspondence from MPs to Ministers and Agency chief executives 1999 2000 Department or Agency Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 15 7,021 60 15 16,137 30 Cabinet Office 15 552 85 15 902 88 Crown Prosecution Service 15 30 93 15 218 100 Department for Culture, Media and Sport 18 5,502 90 18 3,240 82 HM Customs and Excise 18 3,009 38 18 32,977 68 Ministry of Defence 15 5,488 66 15 44,592 78 Army Personnel Centre 15 42 84 15 38 95 DERA 15 35 89 15 21 91 Meteorological Office 15 12 83 15 16 94 Pay and Personnel Agency — — — 10 31 43 Department for International Development 15 2,750 93 15 51,769 82 Department for Education and Employment 15 21,196 75 15 22,318 72 Employment Service 15 635 98 15 592 98 Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions 15 15,768 45 15 19,636 69 Driving Standards Agency 15 124 68 15 91 99 DVLA 7 855 98 10 1,136 99 Highways Agency 15 357 79 15 314 78 Maritime and Coastguard Agency 15 22 91 15 19 100 Planning Inspectorate 8 204 92 8 6310 90 Vehicle Inspectorate 15 18 94 15 13 100 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 11,921 75 720 9,020 78 15 9,482 37 815 8,121 50 Department of Health 20 18,346 47 20 918,621 50 NHS Pensions Agency 15 51 84 15 54 85 Medicines Control Agency 10 70 68 15 25 68 Home Office 15 16,826 45 15 1018,748 1141 20 877 79 20 121,289 79 HM Prison Service 20 2,514 73 20 2,306 75 UK Passport Agency 10 703 35 100 188 100 Inland Revenue 18 5,872 49 18 35,770 72 23 368 60 23 13533 53 Valuation Office 23 24 81 23 240 92 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 15 223 95 15 204 93 Lord Chancellor's Department 20 2,038 82 20 141,844 74 Court Service 20 898 79 1520 16845 66 HM Land Registry 20 53 91 20 1641 93 Public Records Office — — — 20 1626 100 Public Trust Office 15 42 95 15 16124 88 Northern Ireland Office 10 1,897 78 10 594 71 Compensation Agency for NI 7 23 100 7 16 100 Northern Ireland Prison Service 10 37 92 10 37 70 Office for National Savings — — — 10 16154 86 Office for National Statistics 10 275 98 10 17167 79 President of the Council's Office 15 151 81 15 271 94 The Scotland Office 15 105 72 15 125 64 Department of Social Security 20 16,555 66 20 16,283 75 Benefits Agency 20 2,033 70 20 2,642 1845 Child Support Agency 18 5,661 98 18 5,806 97 War Pensions Agency 20 477 100 20 395 99
Correspondence from MPs to Ministers and Agency chief executives 1999 2000 Department or Agency Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters of received Percentage of replied within target Department of Trade and Industry 10 20,889 50 10 318,858 60 Companies House 10 19 100 10 44 100 Employment Tribunals Service — — — 10 1930 97 Insolvency Service 10 22 86 10 20334 87 Patent Office 10 308 88 10 21311 99 Radiocommunications Agency 15 39 97 15 20 100 HM Treasury 15 5,322 44 15 34,061 60 Treasury Solicitor's Department 10 40 100 10 2235 100 Wales Office 15 61 64 15 23344 42 1 Includes correspondence on the Intervention Board 2 Letter addressed to the Law Officers but subsequently replied to by the Director of Public Prosecutions. In addition, the CPS received 490 letters direct from MPs between 1 January and 31 December 2000, of which 96 per cent. were replied to within 15 workings days 3 Includes all ministerial replies, not only replies to letters from MPs 4 Includes letters from MPs, MDLs, MEPs and Peers. Also includes 293 letters where Agency chief executives replied on Ministers' behalf 5 90 per cent. of letters from MPs replied to within 20 working days 6 Include 139 cases relating to Wales 7 Excluding correspondence on migration and visa matters 8 Correspondence on migration and visa matters only 9 In addition, the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency replied to 537 letters from MPs on behalf of Health Ministers 10 Excluding correspondence on Prison Service matters 11 Excluding correspondence on Immigration and Nationality matters, the Home Office replied to 76 per cent. of letters from MPs within 15 working days 12 Correspondence on Prison Service matters. The 20 working day target takes account of particular geographical circumstances. The target is the same whether replies are sent by Ministers or by the Director General 13 Local office and "delegated" figures (where local officials have replied direct to MPs) 14 Excludes letters from MPs to Ministers where Agency chief executives have replied on Ministers' behalf 15 Target reduced from 20 to 15 workings days on 1 April 2000 16 Includes letters where the chief executive has replied on Ministers' behalf 17 Includes 113 letters where the chief executive replied on Ministers' behalf 18 Performance has improved under the new chief executive. Since September 2000, between 85 per cent. and 95 per cent. of all correspondence from MPs has been replied to within the 20 working day target 19 Includes 18 letters where the chief executive replied on Ministers' behalf 20 Includes 313 letters where the chief executive replied on Ministers' behalf 21 Includes 309 letters where the chief executive replied on Ministers' behalf 22 Includes eight letters where the chief executive replied on Ministers' behalf 23 These figures cover the Wales Office's first year of existence and first full parliamentary session. This has been a difficult period. However, the Office has now reviewed its procedures and has introduced a new system for handling MPs correspondence Notes on 2000 figures:
The 1999 figures are taken from 17 April 2000, Official Report, columns 386–87W. Please also refer to the notes given with that reply. Departments and Agencies which received a total of between one and 10 letters from MPs during 2000 are not shown in this table