§ 5. Mr. Robin Corbett (Birmingham, Erdington)In what ways he monitors the performance of Government Departments in meeting targets for responding to correspondence. [86784]
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Mr. Peter Kilfoyle)All Departments and agencies have a target for responding to correspondence, and monitor and publish performance against it. In addition, my Department prepares an annual report to Parliament summarising performance. The report on the Government's handling of correspondence from hon. Members was published on 11 June.
§ Mr. CorbettI thank my hon. Friend for that reply, but I do not think it good enough. I know of constituents who have written to the Department and had to wait five or six months or more for a reply. The Treasury has taken three months to reply to a letter from my office, and the Department of Trade and Industry, four months. I urge my hon. Friend to put in place financial penalties for Departments that consistently fail to meet targets for replying to correspondence from Members of Parliament and, more important, members of the public.
§ Mr. KilfoyleOf course it is our aspiration to ensure that all correspondence is answered speedily and accurately. To that end, we set very challenging targets to be met over a period of three years. We have not yet had the three years in which to make an assessment. We are, for the second time, publishing more accurate information on the situation, which is a marked step forward. If we are to change things, we must know how bad the problem is. I am sure that my hon. Friend would be the first to 1157 admit that many Departments and Government agencies have considerably improved their performance in the past two years.
§ Mr. Nicholas Soames (Mid-Sussex)The hon. Gentleman is a beacon in this respect, because he always replies extremely quickly and promptly. Does he agree with me that there are too many Departments from which replies are not only late but not signed by the Minister involved? If our constituents write to Members of Parliament about matters that concern them, surely Ministers should have the common good manners and decency to sign the reply and send it on time.
§ Mr. KilfoyleLike the hon. Gentleman, I would expect Ministers to respond quickly and in a manner consonant with the expectations of the House. There is no argument about that. I should point out to the hon. Gentleman, however, that there are different situations in different Departments. As he will know from his own experience, some Departments receive a huge amount of correspondence, although that is no excuse for not dealing with it. Earlier this year, we held a seminar on how to improve things, which was attended by the correspondence units of various Departments. We intend to follow that up with another seminar in September. We are looking for marked improvements.
§ Mr. Brian H. Donohoe (Cunninghame, South)Would my hon. Friend agree that it would be better if Departments, or his fellow Ministers, were instructed not to answer letters from Members of the Scottish Parliament on issues that involve a reserved power?
§ Mr. KilfoyleWe are dealing with that issue in our current review.