§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many days on average her Department took in Session 2002–03 to give a substantive answer to a parliamentary question for ordinary written answer; and what the greatest number of days taken to answer such a question was. [155918]
§ Mr. CabornMinisterial colleagues and officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport attach great importance to answering parliamentary questions accurately and to time. We aim to ensure that all Members receive a substantive response to an ordinary written question within a working week of it being tabled.
It is not possible to provide information in the format requested without incurring disproportionate cost. However, during the Session 2002–03, 1,224 ordinary written questions were tabled to DCMS, excluding those withdrawn or transferred to another Department. 642 (52.5 per cent.) were answered within the target date. Of those questions remaining, 63.9 per cent. (372 questions) were answered within the next one to five working days.
The greatest number of days taken to answer an ordinary written question was 132 working days.