§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the average response time was for responding to departmental correspondence; what percentage of letters took longer than one month for a response; and what percentage took longer than three months for a response in each of the last five years. [37440]
§ Dr. John ReidThis information is not held in the format requested.
Since 1 October 1999 the Northern Ireland Office has applied revised service standards. Details of the Department's performance in meeting the target of replying to letters within 15 working days over the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 can be found in the 2001 Departmental Report. The statistics for 2000–01 are presently being collated and will be published in the spring in the 2002 Departmental Report.
Statistics on the Department's performance in responding to ministerial correspondence is also contained in the Northern Ireland Office Departmental Reports held in the House of Commons Library.