§ Mr. PawseyTo ask the Lord President of the Council what was the estimated cost of responding to all parliamentary questions, oral and written, for the parliamentary Session 1988–89.
§ Sir Geoffrey HoweIt is not possible to provide the information in the form requested. However, over the period (November 1988 to November 1989) the average580W cost of answering written and oral questions was £53 and £87 respectively. During the 1988–89 Session a total of 39,540 written questions were answered. The total number of oral questions put down for answer was 23,932, but this figure includes a substantial proportion of engagement questions to the Prime Minister which are not answered unless the Member otherwise requests.