§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average length of time taken to answer letters to Ministers has been in the past 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [43947]
§ Mr. BoatengWithin all the Chancellor's Departments the average time taken to reply to letters in 2001 was 22 working days. This compares to 24 days in 2000 and 31 days in 1999.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many answers to parliamentary questions are more than(a) two weeks and (b) three months outstanding; and if he will make a statement. [43928]
§ Mr. BoatengAs at 18 March, 3,340 of the 3,453 written questions tabled to the Treasury in the present Session had been answered substantively. 2,612 of the questions tabled (75.6 per cent.) had received replies on or before the due date for answering. Of the 113 questions which had not been answered, 28 were more than two weeks overdue, four were more than three months late, and in 52 cases the dates by which answers were due had not yet been reached.