§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will publish the latest figures showing the volume of correspondence received by Ministers and agency chief executives from hon. Members, the targets set for reply and the percentage of replies sent within target. [4273]
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Correspondence from Members of Parliament to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives 1995 1996 Department or Agency Target set for reply(working days) Number of letters receive Percentage of replies within target Target set for reply(working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food 15 8,533 68 15 10,645 62 Cabinet Office (OPS) 15 1,526 76 15 1.067 63 Crown Prosecution Service 15 118 81 15 92 91 Ministry of Defence 15 7,109 75 15 5,897 66 —Army Technical Support Agency — — — 15 11 100 —Defence Analytical Services Agency — — — 10 14 93 —Defence Evaluation and Research Agency 7 103 76 10 377 74 —Defence Postal and Courier Service 15 13 100 15 12 100 —Disposal Sales Agency 15 15 100 15 10 100 —Duke of York's Royal Military School 3 17 100 3 11 100 —Meteorological Office — — — 15 16 70 —Naval Recruiting and Training Agency — — — 15 10 100 —Pay and Personnel Agency — — — 10 25 84 Department for Education and Employment 20 8,111 87 20 116,774 88 —Employment Service 15 1,306 97 15 1,044 98 —Teachers' Pensions' Agency2 10 95 100 10 59 98 Department of the Environment 15 18,138 52 15 14,395 352 —Planning Inspectorate Agency 8 593 89 8 481 84 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 10 7,364 90 10 4.9,756 95 Department of Health 20 16,121 79 20 11,376 87 —NHS Pensions Agency 20 81 84 15 46 70 HM Customs and Excise 18 4,914 68 18 4,303 63 Home Office 15 11,556 26 15 12,072 32 25 12,327 51 525 10,371 57 —HM Prison Service 15 2,564 76 15 2,911 89 —UK Passport Agency 15 101 86 610 245 87 Inland Revenue 18 4,746 47 7.18 3,914 41 23 336 49 823 682 85 —Valuation Office 23 221 48 923 256 46 15 31 51 1015 53 73 Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 15 359 75 15 11515 76 Lord Chancellor's Department 20 4,641 81 20 2,876 12268 —Court Service 20 985 46 20 1,217 93 —HM Land Registry 20 63 100 20 53 98 —Public Record Office — — — 10 12 92 —Public Trust Office 15 45 98 15 113 100 Department of National Heritage 18 3,834 95 18 5,476 81 —Historic Royal Palaces Agency 10 16 100 10 19 100 —Royal Parks Agency 10 20 80 10 29 86
§ Mr. KilfoyleIt has been customary to publish these figures annually. I attach therefore a table setting out the correspondence figures for the 1996 calendar year. The table also sets out the figures for 1995, first published on 20 June 1996,Official Report, columns 526–30. Members' attention is drawn to the footnotes which accompany the table and which provide general background information on how totals have been calculated.
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Correspondence from Members of Parliament to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives 1995 1996 Department or Agency Target set for reply(working days) Number of letters receive Percentage of replies within target Target set for reply(working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target Northern Ireland Office (including 10 4,237 64 1310 14,195 52 Northern Ireland Departments) 15 1,857 80 1415 12,094 72 —Child Support Agency 10 73 74 10 69 86 —Compensation Agency 10 94 99 10 77 100 —Northern Ireland Prison Service 10 54 83 10 127 99 —Planning Service — — — 15 163 99 —Rate Collection Agency — — — 5 19 100 —Roads Service — — — 15 91 100 —Social Security Agency 10 41 63 10 75 87 —Water Service — — — 15 52 92 Office for National Statistics — — — 10 15199 54 Overseas Development Administration 15 3,941 96 15 3,508 94 Scottish Office 17 5,874 49 17 5,226 61 —Historic Scotland 17 39 95 17 59 93 —Scottish Office Pensions Agency 17 11 100 17 31 97 —Scottish Prison Service 17 81 84 17 112 99 —Student Awards Agency for Scotland 17 61 95 17 120 97 Department of Social Security 20 19,645 71 20 1618,091 74 —Benefits Agency 20 2,689 89 20 172,175 98 —Child Support Agency 20 5,554 63 20 9,110 62 —Contributions Agency 20 304 48 20 18395 61 —War Pensions Agency 20 1,117 100 20 1,283 99 Department of Trade and Industry 10 18,505 72 10 115,483 74 —Companies House 10 44 85 10 48 100 —Insolvency Service 10 29 100 10 42 98 —Patent Office 10 17 100 10 26 100 —Radiocommunications Agency 10 38 100 10 23 100 Department of Transport 15 19,427 65 15 15,929 66 Coastguard Agency — — — 15 27 78 DVLA 7 402 99 7 373 100 Driving Standards Agency 15 122 94 15 273 91 Highways Agency 15 665 84 15 662 98 Marine Safety Agency 15 18 100 15 16 94 Vehicle Inspectorate 15 42 98 15 37 97 HM Treasury 15 7,761 62 15 14,331 57 Welsh Office 12 2,987 82 12 2,989 80 CADW (Welsh Historic Monuments) 12 46 93 10 35 97 Notes on 1996 Figures19
1. Includes all Ministerial replies, not only those letters to Members of Parliament.
2.The Teacher's Pensions Agency became part of the Capita Group on 1 October 1996.
3.71 per cent. of letters were replied to within 20 working days.
4. In addition, the FCO's Migration and Visa Department received 6,196 letters direct from MPs in 1996. 78 per cent. of these were replied to within the 15 working day target.
5.The 25 working day target is for replies on Prison Service, UK Passport Agency and Immigration and Nationality Department subjects. The figures include letters sent direct to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate Board. The 15 day working day target is for all there subjects.
6.Target time reduced from 15 working days to 10 working days with effect from 26 February 1996.
7.. Head Office figures.
8.. Local Office and "delegated" figures (where local officials reply direct to MPs).
9.. Letters from MPs where the Chief Executive has replied on behalf of Treasury Ministers.
10. Letters from MPs sent direct to the Chief Executive.
11.This figure excludes letters received by the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers which were subsequently replied to by the Director of Public Prosecutions.
12. The apparent decline in performance is accounted for by a change in the method of calculation.
13.Replies signed by the Minister.
14.Replies signed by the Private Secretary to the Minister.
15.Includes 165 letters where the Chief Executive replied on Ministers' behalf.
16.Excludes letters replied to by the Chief Executive of the Contributions Agency on behalf of Ministers.
17.. In addition, the Benefits Agency replied to 18,556 letters from MPs sent direct to local offices, 91 per cent. of which were replied to within the 20 working day target.
110W111W18.Includes letters from MPs to Ministers where the Chief Executive has replied on Ministers' behalf.
19.The 1995 figures are taken from the Official Report, 20 June 1996, columns 526–530. Please also refer to notes given with that reply. In addition the following Departments and Agencies received between 1 and 10 letters from Members of Parliament during 1996 but are not shown in the table:
—ADAS, Central Science Laboratory, Meat Hygiene Service, Veterinary Laboratories Agency (MAFF);
—Central Office of Information, Property Advisors to the Civil Estate, The Buying Agency (Cabinet Office);
—Army Base Repair Organisation, Army Base Storage and Distribution Agency, Army Personnel Centre, Defence Bills Agency, Defence Clothing and Textiles Agency, Defence Secondary Care Agency, Defence Transport and Movements Executive, Military Survey, MOD Police Agency, Naval Bases and Supply Agency, Naval Manning Agency, RAF Maintenance Group Defence Agency, Service Children's Education Agency (MOD);
—Medical Devices Agency, Medicines Control Agency (Health);
—Government Property Lawyers, Serious Fraud Office, Treasury Solicitors Department (Attorney General);
—Construction Service, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency, Environment and Heritage Service, Land Registers of Northern Ireland, Rivers Agency, Training and Employment Agency, Valuation and Lands Agency (NIO and NI Departments);
—Scottish Court Service, Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (Scottish Office);
Information Technology Services Agency (DSS);
—National Weights and Measures Laboratory (DTI).