§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average period of time taken by his Department to respond to complaints made to them by an inmate serving a prison sentence in England and Wales was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [68831]
§ Mr. George HowarthThis information is not recorded centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost. However, the prisoner requests complaints procedure provides that prisoners should receive a reply within six weeks, and if that is not possible, they should receive an interim reply explaining the delay. There have been some delays in dealing with requests and complaints in Prison Service headquarters, and improved procedures are currently being put in place to keep prisoners informed of progress.