HC Deb 03 July 1995 vol 263 cc10-1W
Ms Hodge

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what performance indicators and performance targets there are for measuring the performance of his Department in (a) answering letters from members of the public and (b) answering telephone calls from members of the public; how performance is monitored; and what are the latest figures for performance measured against the target set. [26236]

Mr. Goodlad

The FCO has an office-wide target of 20 working days for replying to letters from members of the public. For the diplomatic wing, performance is monitored within each department and central returns submitted. Between 1 April 1994, when the target was introduced, to 31 December 1994, 23,329 letters were received of which 98 per cent. were replied to within the target. In the Overseas Development Administration, 1,477 requests for information were received within the same period, of which 94 per cent. were replied to within the target.

The FCO has no set target for answering telephone calls from members of the public.