§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the President of the Council what formula is used to determine the average cost of answering a parliamentary question. [58777]
§ Mr. BoatengI have been asked to reply.
A costing survey conducted in 1991, involving six Government Departments answering a total of approximately 1,600 parliamentary questions, established the average full costs of answering both written and oral parliamentary questions, then £87 and £202 respectively.
Since 1991 the costs have been updated annually by indexation using two separate indices, the retail prices index and the civil service earnings index. The indices are applied 25 per cent. and 75 per cent. respectively to prior year average costs to determine the revised average costs for answering parliamentary questions.
The current average costs of answering parliamentary questions are £129 for a written parliamentary question and £299 for an oral parliamentary question, as announced on 11 April 2002, Official Report, column 582W.