§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans his Department has to correspond electronically with(a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public. [49815]
§ Angela Eagle[holding answer 12 July 1998]On(a), I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 17 July 1998, Official Report, column 315. On (b), as part of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's target of twenty five per cent. of dealings with Government being undertaken electronically by 2002, the Department is taking major steps to modernise and bring in electronic services. Among other things, this will provide more opportunity for the Department to correspond electronically with members of the public.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many letters per day his office receives; how many staff are employed to answer these; what targets are set in respect of such letters; and what is the current performance against targets. [50679]
§ Angela EagleIn respect of the volume of correspondence and targets set by this Department for dealing with such correspondence, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service today,Official Report, colum 363. Few staff are solely employed by my Department to handle correspondence; for most staff this is part of their normal duties.