Correspondence (Hansard, 3 December 2001)

§ Mr. Burns
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of letters received by her Department between 20 June and 20 July were replied to(a) in under 15, (b) in under 20, (c) in under 30, (d) in under 40 and (e) in over 40 working days. [18577]

§ Mr. Morley
Information on the volume of correspondence from Members of Parliament received by ministerial agency chief executives, and departments and agencies and performance in handling them is published annually by the Cabinet Office. The most recent report covering 2000, was announced by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office on 6 April 2001,Official Report, 100W column 325W. Between 20 June and 20 July 2001, the volume of correspondence and percentage of replies within the set target was:

Letters received: 718

8 per cent. received replies within 15 working days;

7 per cent. received replies within 20 working days;

13 per cent. received replies within 30 working days;

3 per cent. received replies within 40 working days;

17 per cent. received replies over 40 working days.
The Department keeps a central log of ministerial cases only and so this figure does not include letters received in this period that were dealt with by officials.
We are working hard to ensure the Department' s record is improved and the targets met. The Department has suffered severe disruption due to allocating top priority to defeating the foot and mouth epidemic. I accept this is not an adequate excuse for not giving hon. Members good service and now that normality is returning to the Department one of our urgent priorities is to rectify any weakness in our service delivery.

§ Mr. Burns
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many letters her Department received from hon. and right hon. Members between 20 June and 20 July. [18589]

§ Mr. Morley
Information on the volume of correspondence from Members of Parliament received by ministerial agency chief executives, and Departments and agencies and performance in handling them is published annually by the Cabinet Office. The most recent report covering 2000, was announced by the then Minister for the Cabinet Office on 6 April 2001,Official Report, column 325W. Between 20 June and 20 July 2001, the number of letters received was 718. The Department keeps a central log of ministerial cases only and so this figures does not include letters received in this period that was dealt with by officials.

§ Mr. Peter Atkinson
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she will reply to the letter of 12 September from the hon. Member for Hexham regarding assistance to Tyredale council to promote tourism. [20028]

§ Alun Michael
A response to the hon. Member's letter of 12 September has been sent today.

§ Mrs. Ann Winterton
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the efficiency and promptness of her Department's staff in responding to correspondence received from hon. Members; and if she will make a statement. [20025]

§ Mr. Morley
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State wrote to all Members on 14 November setting out her assessment of the current problems faced by the correspondence section. The Department suffered severe disruption due to allocating top priority to defeating the foot and mouth epidemic. On top of this the sheer volume of correspondence received since the creation of DEFRA has had a severe impact on the section. I accept this is not an adequate excuse for not giving hon. Members good service, and now that normality is returning to the Department one of our urgent priorities is to rectify any weakness in our service delivery.
101W
The size of the section has increased threefold and the management strengthened; our IT systems are in the process of being improved, and new guidance and training is being rolled out throughout the Department. We hope that this will bear fruit in the very near future.