§ Mr. RowlandsTo ask the Prime Minister (1) what specific procedures he has laid down for Ministers and Departments for the answering of hon. Members' urgent correspondence;
(2) what response times have been or will be established for departmental replies to hon. Members' letters under the citizens charter;
(3) what is the average time taken by Ministers to reply to hon. Members' letters in each Department.
§ The Prime MinisterFollowing the publication of the efficiency scrutiny of ministerial correspondence in December 1990, the Government have reinforced their efforts to ensure that letters from hon. Members receive proper consideration and replies within a reasonable time. These include extensive use of targets for reply times, monitoring and publication of performance against targets, and more efficient ways of dealing with letters within Departments and agencies. Departments will each publish their performance against targets for replies to ministerial correspondence.