§ Lord Norton of Louthasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the estimate of the number of letters signed by Ministers in 2003; what proportion were to Members of either House of Parliament: and what were the equivalent figures for 2001 and 2002.[HL639]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonMinisters sign a variety of letters including letters to other Ministers, Members of both Houses, overseas governments, public bodies and members of the public. Records of these letters will be maintained by departments in different ways It is not therefore possible to provide an accurate breakdown of the numbers of letters signed by Ministers between different categories of senders without incurring disproportionate costs.
However, the Cabinet Office publishes an annual report on departments' and agencies' handling and volume of correspondence received from Members of both Houses. Information for the 2003 report is n the process of being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready. In 2001 160,000 pieces of correspondence were received compared to 185,000 in 2002.
Information relating to the handling of Peers' correspondence was, for the first time, included in the 2002 report and will be included in future reports.