§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of correspondence received by(a) his Department and (b) each of his Department's agencies receives (i) an acknowledgement within five days and (ii) a substantive reply within 15 days.
§ Mr. BoswellIn accordance with recommendations made in 1990 by the Government's efficiency unit, the Department no longer routinely issues acknowledgements to letters which are to be replied to by Ministers. Of the nearly 3,500 ministerial replies issued between 1 September 1993 and 30 November 1993, 76 per cent. were issued within three weeks and 90 per cent. within four weeks of receipt of the incoming letter.
The Department does not collect the data requested for incoming letters which are to be replied to by officials.
In line with the Department's approach, the Teachers Pensions Agency does not issue routine acknowledgements. Between 1 April and 30 November, the TPA replied to 98 per cent. of ministerial correspondence and 940W 85 per cent. of general correspondence within 15 days. The figures are based on the 80 per cent. of correspondence that is subject to detailed monitoring.