§ Mr. Chopeasked the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters from hon. Members to his Department still awaiting a substantive reply were received more than (a) one month ago, (b) two months ago, (c) three months ago and (d) four months ago; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Nicholas Edwards[pursuant to his reply, 14 July 1986, c. 351]: Of the 13 letters received from right hon. and hon. Members which were still awaiting a substantive reply on 11 July 1986, 11 were received more than one month ago; one was received more than two months ago: and one was received more than three months ago. None was received more than four months ago.
Since 11 July, 4 of the 13 listed above have received substantive replies, one of these having been received more than two months ago and three more than one month ago.
The average time taken to reply to letters addressed to Ministers is 10 working days. In some cases it is appropriate to make enquiries to other Government Departments, local authorities and other bodies, and on such occasions the length of time taken to respond can be longer. When circumstances prevent an early reply being made the correspondent is kept informed and a substantive reply is made as soon as possible.