HC Deb 23 June 2000 vol 352 cc339-40W
Mr. Maclennan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many written parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000 have not received substantive answers on the grounds that the information is(a) not held centrally, (b) not held in the form requested and (c) not available. [127099]

Mr. Straw

[holding answer 21 June 2000]My Department answered a total of 2,751 written parliamentary questions between 19 October 1999–20 April 2000. Sixty

Percentage clear-up rate by police force and in total1,2
Police force area 1979 1987 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1997–98 1998–993
Avon and Somerset 43 30 17 17 21 23 24 26 26 24
Bedfordshire 48 29 20 21 22 22 33 35 35 33
Cambridgeshire 47 35 27 25 25 19 24 27 28 29
Cheshire 58 40 29 26 30 31 34 36 34 37
Cleveland 51 34 32 27 19 25 24 25 23 23
Cumbria 56 46 37 38 37 40 36 40 41 44
Derbyshire 50 45 22 21 21 20 21 25 26 31
non-substantive replies were given to hon. and right hon. Members where information was 'not held centrally', one where the information was 'not held in the form requested' and 20 where the information was 'not available'.

It is my practice to provide as full a reply as possible to all parliamentary questions, and to provide all relevant information even where that specifically requested is not available.

Mr. Maclennan

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions he has deposited papers in the Library in response to parliamentary questions tabled to his Department between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000. [127438]

Mr. Straw

I deposited papers in the Library in response to parliamentary questions on 150 occasions between 19 October 1999 and 20 April 2000.