§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many oral parliamentary questions he has answered by written reply because the question was not reached at Question Time, for the most recent year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MellorSince it was created in July 1988 the Department of Health has answered oral questions on two occasions. Up to the end of 1988, 161 oral questions were tabled to the Secretary of State for Health, of which 137 received a written reply.
Prior to the division of the Department of Health and Social Security, a total of 950 oral questions were tabled to the Secretary of State for Social Services during the 1987–88 Session. Of these, 822 received a written reply.
These figures do not include oral questions which were subsequently withdrawn, unstarred or transferred to other Departments.