§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what proportion of correspondence received by(a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's agencies receives (i) an acknowledgement within five days and (ii) a substantive reply within 15 days.
§ Mr. GoodladStatistics showing the response time of the Foreign and Commonwealth office, the Wilton house conference centre, our only agency, and the Overseas Development Administration to ministerial correspondence are contained in the reply given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 23 March 1993, columns550–54, to the hon. Member for East Lothian (Mr. Home Robertson). Statistics for 1993 will be published early in 1994.
It is standard practice for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to acknowledge correspondence addressed to Ministers on the day it is received. The Wilton house conference centre does not issue acknowledgements, as it normally replies immediately. The Overseas Development Administration does not issue acknowledgements.