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Written statement made by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 March 2007 in the House of Lords, on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Members' and Peers' Correspondence

My honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is today publishing a report on departments’ and agencies’ performance on handling Members’ and Peers’ correspondence during 2006. Details are set out in the attached table. Figures for 2005 were published on 30 March 2006, (Official Report, col. WS 75). Departmental figures are based on substantive replies unless otherwise indicated. The footnotes to the table provide general background information on how the figures have been compiled.

Correspondence from MPs and Peers to Ministers and Agency Chief Executivesi 2006
Department or Agency Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies with target
Cabinet Office 15 962 ii 83
Department for Communities and Local Government iii 15 11,168 42 iv
Planning Inspectorate 10 228 77
Ordnance Survey 15 66 100
Department for Constitutional Affairs 20 3,524 84
HM Courts Service 15 54 96
Tribunals Service v 10 1,969 92
Land Registry 20 59 95
Public Guardianship Office 15 53 96
Crown Prosecution Service 15 569 97
Department for Culture, Media and Sport 20 4,199 76
Ministry of Defence 15 7,001 vi 62 vii
Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency 15 153 97
Defence Vetting Agency 7 24 100
Veterans Agency 15 881 99
Department for Education and Skills 15 17,240 73 viii
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 15 12,475 53 ix
Rural Development Service x 15 68 31
Rural Payments Agency 15 1,536 22 xi
Pesticide Safety Directorate 15 51 47 10
State Veterinary Service 15 19 26 10
Veterinary Medicines Directorate 20 26 65 10
Food Standards Agency 20 410 * 62 xii
* Letters where Health Ministers have replied 10 51 ** 92
** Letters where Chief Executive/Chairman has replied
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 11,970 89
UK Visas 15 7,711 * 78
* Letters where UK Visa officials have replied 20 953 ** 80
** Letters where FCO Ministers have replied
Department of Health 20 23,053 89
* Letters received by the Chief Medical Officer and responded directly to MPs. 20 28 75 *
** Letters received by the NHS Chief Executive and responded directly to MPs. 20 44 89 **
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 20 212 84
*** Letters received by Agency Chief Executive and responded on behalf of DH Ministers 20 30 87 ***
NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency. 20 15 80
Home Office (non IND correspondence) xiii 15 9,583 93
Criminal Records Bureau 10 378 XIV 93
Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) 20 41,534 78
HM Prison Service 20 1,004 97
Identity and Passport Service xv 10 679 68
Department for International Development 15 5,094 76
Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Lord's Office 15 110 90
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 20 375 71
Northern Ireland Office 10 506 67
Compensation Agency 7 39 85 xvi
Northern Ireland Prison Service 10 34 85
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons 15 418 96
HM Revenue and Customs 18 5,327 60
* Local Office and ““delegated”” figures (where local tax offices have replied directly to MPs) 18 1,956 * 54
Scotland Office 15 39 77
Department of Trade and Industry 15 12,780 71
Companies House 10 54 100
Employment Tribunals Service xvii 12 12 100
Insolvency Service 10 559 98
Department for Transport 15 9,944 76
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 7 1,274 79
Driving Standards Agency 15 71 83
Highways Agency 15 347 96
Maritime and Coastguard Agency 10 12 83
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 15 25 100
HM Treasury 15 4,281 85 xvii
National Savings and Investments 15 43 93
Office for National Statistics 15 105 85
10 108 xix 71
Valuation Office 18 13 84
Treasury Solicitor's Department 10 26 100
Wales Office 15 148 86
Department for Work and Pensions 20 13,140 90
Appeals Service xx 15 20 90
Child Support Agency 15 5,235 94
Debt Management 15 11 100
Disability and Carers Service 15 467 100
Health and Safety Executive 15 145 90
Jobcentre Plus 15 1,445 92
The Pension Service 15 767 96
i Departments and Agencies which received 10 MPs/Peers letters or fewer are not shown in this table. Holding or interim replies are not included unless otherwise indicated. The report does not include correspondence considered as Freedom of Information requests.
ii Office of the Third Sector and the Social Exclusion Unit are included from May 2006.
iii DCLG was established in May 2006.
iv Drop in performance caused by several planning campaigns and a higher volume of correspondence. New arrangements have been introduced to improve performance.
v The Tribunals Service was formed in April 2006 and incorporates the former Employment Tribunal Service.
vi Database is unable to differentiate between letters from MPs/Peers and other correspondence, including FOI requests. Figures are therefore for all letters which received a ministerial reply. The AFPAA and DVA do not include FOI requests.
vii Drop in performance caused by an increased volume of correspondence and the introduction of a new database in September 2006 to record and track correspondence.
viii Drop in performance caused by technical difficulties following the implementation of a new handling system. Since August 2006, performance has increased to 93 per cent. "
ix There was a marked increase in correspondence in the first half of the year. In April 2006 a fully centralised system and changes in the correspondence handling system were introduced.
x Only includes figures from January to October when the Rural Development Service merged with English Nature and the Countryside Agency to form Natural England. Natural England is an NDPB so will not be included in future lists.
xi New procedures have been implemented to tackle and improve performance from 2007.
xii From 1 Feb 2007 FSA correspondence has been processed though the DH Customer Service Centre, which it is hoped will lead to improved performance.
xiii Active Communities Directorate included until May 2006, when it transferred to the Office of the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office.
xiv These figures are from February 2006 when a new correspondence team was established.
xv The UK Passport Service became the Identity and Passport Service in April 2006.
xvi Drop in performance caused by complex correspondence.
xvii Figures are from 1 January to 2 April 2006, when the Employment Tribunals Service became part of the Tribunals Service.
xviii Database can not differentiate between correspondence received from MP/Peers and others so figure includes all letters receiving a ministerial reply.
xix Figures are where the National Statistician replied on the Ministers' behalf. Figures are for all correspondence not just that received from MPs and Peers.
xx Figures are from January to 2 April 2006, when the Appeals Service became part of the Tribunals Service.

Secondary information

Type
Written statement
Reference
690 c151-6WS 
Session
2006-07
Related items
Members' and Peers' Correspondence
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Written statements
House of Lords
Parliament: Members'/Peers' Correspondence
Thursday, 30 March 2006
Written statements
House of Lords
Subjects
Executive agencies Correspondence Government departments Members Peers Standards
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written statement on www.publications.parliament.uk