§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what his target time is for replying to letters from hon. Members; and what his policy is on the issuing of acknowledgement letters from the Ministerial Correspondence Unit. [159792]
§ Ms StuartThe Department has a Service First target of 20 working days to reply to correspondence from hon. Members. It is the Department's policy to issue acknowledgement letters to all correspondence received from hon. Members. Unfortunately, the Department had to suspend this practice in late 2000 due to problems with the system producing incorrect dates on acknowledgement letters. The problem has now been resolved and all correspondence is now being acknowledged.
§ Sir Brian MawhinneyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health when the right hon. Member for North-West Cambridgeshire will receive a reply to his letter of 23 March on behalf of his constituents, Mr. and Mrs. McGuire. [159870]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 1 May 2001]: A reply to the right hon. Member's letter concerning his constituents Mr. and Mrs. McGuire was sent on 30 April 2001.