§ Ms ArmstrongTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the published recommended response times within which his Department is expected to reply to letters from the public.[3009]
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonScottish Office Ministers aim to reply to letters within 17 working days of receipt. Performance against that target is published in theOfficial Report. A 20-day response time has been set for letters addressed to Ministers which are answered by officials, although individual areas may set a tighter deadline. Executive agencies include details of target response times and performance in their annual reports.