HC Deb 03 June 1985 vol 80 c62W
Mr. Peter Bruinvels

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of the questions set down on the Order Paper for priority written answer by him in (a) Session 1983–84 and (b) the current Session to date have initially received a holding reply.

Mr. Heseltine

Over 1,000 questions have been set down on the Order Paper for priority written answer by me in each of the Sessions referred to by my hon. Friend. Because of the number of questions involved and the way in which departmental records are maintained, I regret that this information could only be provided at disproportionate effort and cost.

Mr. Peter Bruinvels

asked the Secretary of State for Defence how many parliamentary questions have been answered by Ministers in his Department in each of the last three complete Sessions, and the current Session to date; if he will break these figures down into questions tabled as oral questions, priority written questions and ordinary written questions, respectively; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Heseltine

The information requested, which has been compiled from Departmental statistics, is as follows:

Session Total No Questions *Oral †Priority Written †Ordinary Written
1984–85
(to 24 May 1985) 1,852 326 1,024 502
1983–84 2,278 365 1,267 646
1982–83 1,430 306 749 375
1981–82 1,630 360 715 555
* Includes questions which, although tabled for oral answer, received a written reply.
† Includes questions originally tabled to other Departments which were subsequently transferred to the Ministry of Defence.