§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many formal notices his Department has received in the last year from the Parliamentary Ombudsman expressing an intention to carry out an investigation; and in respect of each notice how long it took to respond. [18769]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 27 November 2001]: Information on the outcome of statutory investigations which were concluded during 2000–01 are set out in the Parliamentary Ombudsman's Annual Report for 2000–01, copies of which are available in the Library of the House, or on the Parliamentary Ombudsman's website at www.ombudsman.org.uk/pca/document/par01/index.htm
Between 1 April 2001 and 31 October 2001, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has received one new statutory statement of complaint from the Parliamentary 2W Ombudsman. The MOD responded to this case within the time scale requested by the ombudsman. The time taken to respond was 24 working days.
A formal notice regarding a matter in the War Pensions Agency was sent to the then Department of Social Security in March 2001. Following transfer of responsibility for the War Pensions Agency, the MOD will be responsible for responding to any observations the ombudsman makes in his report.