§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the written questions asked of him between(a) 1 to 30 June 2001, (b) 1 to 31 July 2001, (c) 1 to 30 September 2001, (d) 1 to 31 October 2001, (e) 1 to 30 November 2001, (f) 1 to 31 December 2001, (g) 1 to 31 January 2002, (h) 1 to 28 February 2002, (i) 1 to 31 March 2002 and (j) 1 to 30 April 2002 that had not received a substantive answer by 30 April; and if he will state (i) the name of the hon. Member asking the question and (ii) the reasons the question had not received a substantive answer. [54084]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 2 May 2002]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the President of the Council (Mr. Cook) on 2 May 2002, Official Report, columns 949–50W.
The information is shown in the table.
February March April Number of written questions yet to receive a substantive answer by 30 April 5 70 391 of which: Number subsequently answered 4 46 329 The number of written questions tabled for the Department was 923 in February, 821 in March, and 1,139 in April. The size of the backlog is unfortunate, but nonetheless the key figure—the amount answered—demonstrates our commitment to responding as promptly and helpfully to Members' questions as we possibly can, regardless of the volume.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will reply to the question from the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton, ref. 51604, tabled on 17 April. [58178]
§ Yvette CooperI replied to the hon. Member on 20 May 2002.