§ Mr. CummingsTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on how many occasions in each of the past five years Ministers in his Department have passed(a) hon. Members' letters and (b) hon. Members' questions to agencies for response; and what this figure is as a percentage of the total number of letters and questions received. [19414]
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe information requested is as follows:
(a) The number of letters to which I, or my predecessors, have asked executive agencies to reply during the last five calendar years are as follows:
466W
Year Number As a percentage of all letters from hon. Members or Peers 1991 234 2.35 1992 357 3.25 1993 475 4.26 1994 872 9.24 1995 828 9.70 The answer to the vast majority of such letters were partially or wholly prepared by agencies but signed by MAFF Ministers.
(b) Parliamentary questions are not passed to chief executives, although chief executives are asked to write to the Member concerned when the question seeks information about operational matters delegated to them.
The number of questions for which I, or my predecessors, have asked executive agencies to respond to by letter are as follows:
Parliamentary Session Number As a percentage of all questions 1993–94 6 0.3 1994–95 35 1.84 1995–96 (to date) 16 2.09 These figures include parliamentary answers where a partial answer has been given by me or my predecessors in respect of the core Department
Figures are not readily available for earlier sessions of Parliament.