HC Deb 19 February 1998 vol 306 cc781-2W
Mr. Ian Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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. [27032]

Mr. Paul Murphy

[holding answer 2 February 1998]: When answering Ministerial Correspondence, a standard 10 day turn around target is set. Of the 2,603 Ministers cases dealt with in 1997, 1,684 were answered within the target time which is an average success rate of 65 per cent. The main reasons for missing the target were the time taken for transmitting papers to and from the Minister/Minister not in NI and difficulties in obtaining information from various sources. No information is available regarding delivery times for letters.

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