§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how long on average it takes his Department to answer letters from hon. Members; what target date his Department sets; what percentage receive replies within the target date; and what assessment he has made of how long it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed. [27034]
§ Mr. Chris Smith[holding answer 2 February 1998]: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has taken 14.75 days on average to answer letters from hon. Members for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 December 1997. The Department's target for replying to this type of correspondence is 18 working days, and it achieves this target in 71 per cent. of cases. No information is available for the length of time it takes to deliver a letter after it has been typed.