§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give the average time taken by his Department to send formal acknowledgements of receipt and replies to letters sent to him generally and by Members of Parliament in particular; how these times compare with a stated period as long ago as may be conveniently recorded; and what action he has taken or intends taking to expedite these replies to the taxpayer and their elected representatives.
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§ Mr. Merlyn ReesLetters from hon. Members are usually acknowledged within a day of two of their receipt. Many letters require inquiries to be made outside the Department and interim replies explaining the position are sent when appropriate. The average time taken to send a final reply during the first quarter of this year was 28.8 working days; this was three days longer than in the comparable period in 1975 but the volume of correspondence was substantially greater. On the general question and the action taken, I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to the Question by the hon. Member for Wycombe (Sir J. Hall) on 23rd December 1976.—[Vol. 923, c.265.]
Comparable information in respect of other correspondence is not available.