§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many parliamentary questions have been tabled to his Department since 1 January 2003, broken down by(a) ordinary written and (b) named day; what percentage in respect of (a) were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage in respect of (b) were answered by the specified date. [157747]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonBetween 1 January 2003 and 27 February 2004, 8,058 ordinary written and 1,458 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the Department of Health.
Using the information readily available the average time taken to answer an ordinary written parliamentary question was 15.5 calendar days; and approximately 30 per cent. of named day parliamentary questions received an answer by the specified date.
The Department strives to answer right hon. and hon. Members' questions in a timely and helpful fashion and is currently seeking to improve performance.