Written question asked by Stephen O'Brien (Conservative) on Thursday, 18 March 2010, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 22 March 2010. It was answered by Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Labour) on Wednesday, 24 March 2010 on behalf of the Treasury.

Departmental Written Questions

Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what methodology his Department used to determine whether answers to questions in the formulation if he will set out with statistical information related as directly as possible to the tabling hon. Member's constituency the effects on that constituency of his Department's policies since 1997 could be provided without incurring disproportionate cost; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: HM Treasury seeks to answer all parliamentary questions that do not incur disproportionate cost. Disproportionate cost is determined via a disproportionate cost threshold (DCT). The current DCT is £800, announced in Parliament by ministerial statement on the 20 January 2010.The calculation of DCT is based on eight times the average marginal cost of answering written PQs. Marginal cost excludes the fixed costs of parliamentary branches and departmental overheads.

Secondary information