§ Ms. Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what guidelines are issued to his Department for the processing of correspondence from hon. Members; and what is the average delay between receipt of correspondence from, and the date of response to, an hon. Member.
§ Miss WiddecombeGuidance to the Department, including its agencies, makes it clear that Ministers and chief executives aim to reply to letters from hon. Members within an average of four weeks of receipt. So far, in 1992–93 average response time for both Ministers and chief executives has been 21 working days.