§ Ms. Janet AndersonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidelines are issued to his Department for the processing of correspondence from hon. Members; and what is the average delay between receipt of correspondence from, and the date of response to, an hon. Member.
§ Mr. HeseltineThe Department of Trade and Industry has an explicit performance target for all ministerial correspondence as set out by the citizens charter unit. When DTI Ministers themselves reply to letters from Members of Parliament or members of the public, they aim to do so within ten working days of receipt of the incoming letter. This target was met, in the year ending 31 December 1991, in 91.5 per cent. of cases.