§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Lord President of the Council what is the total annual cost of written parliamentary questions each year since 1979; how such a figure is calculated; and what is the average cost per hon. Member in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. WakehamRecords of the total cost of answering parliamentary questions are not kept and details of the average cost per hon. Member are not, therefore, available. However, an assessment is made of the average cost of answering a written question. This average figure is updated regularly and currently stands at £51. The calculation is based on a sample of staff time using average rates of pay and associated costs (such as national insurance and superannuation) for the Civil Service grades concerned and substantive non-staff costs such as computer usage.