§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Lord President of the Council 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. Newton[holding answer 17 December 1993]: Current practice is for acknowledgements of correspondence to be sent immediately in cases where it is clear that a substantive reply cannot be given without consultation or research. Substantive replies are sent to correspondence as quickly as possible, but detailed analysis of response times could not be prepared except at disproportionate cost. The Privy Council Office has no responsibility for any agencies.