§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how long on average it takes her Department to answer letters from hon. Members; what target date her Department sets; what percentage receive replies within the target date; and what assessment she has made of how long it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed. [27030]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information is not kept in the format requested.
Our target is to reply to letters from hon. Members within 20 working days. Due to the very high volume of letters in the last six months this target was achieved for only 51 per cent. of the letters received during 1997.
We remain committed to answering all correspondence within 20 working days and are taking active measures to reduce turnaround times.