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Written statement made by Lord Davies of Oldham (Labour) on Thursday, 20 March 2008 in the House of Lords, on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Members' and Peers' Correspondence

My honourable friend the Parliamentary Secretary at the Cabinet Office (Tom Watson) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am today publishing a report on departments' and agencies' performance on handling Members' and Peers' correspondence during 2007. Details are set out in the attached table. Figures for 2006 were published on 28 March 2007 (Official Report, col. WS 101). 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/Peers to Ministers and Agency Chief Executives¹ 2007
Department or Agency Target set for reply (working days) Number of letters received Percentage of replies within target
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform² 15 7,502 74
Companies House 10 54 100
Insolvency Service 10 311 98
Cabinet Office 15 485 88
Department for Communities and Local Government 15 11,018 61³
Planning Inspectorate 10 186 93
Crown Prosecution Service 15 422 99
Department for Children, Schools and Families4 15 16,383 92
Department for Culture, Media and Sport 20 5,449 77
Royal Parks Agency 20 17 94
Ministry of Defence 15 6,6825 486
Met Office 10 24 83
Service Personnel and Veterans Agency 15 645 98
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 15 14,068 73
Animal Health 15 61 94
Marine Fisheries Agency 15 33 96
Rural Payments Agency 15 645 407
Foreign and Commonwealth Office 20 9,792 92
UK Visas 20 401 77
Department of Health 20 19,329 92
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency 20 193 80*
20 31 100*
NHS Purchasing and Supplies Agency 20 12 80*
*Agency Ministerial cases
**Letters sent directly to Agency Chief Executive, where Agency Chief Executives responded on behalf of Ministers
Food Standards Agency
*Letters where Health Ministers have replied 20 279* 72*
**Letters where Chief Executive/Chairman has replied 20 75** 95**
***DH Campaign letters8 20 142*** 17***
Meat Hygiene Service 20 15 80
Home Office9 15 6,567 95
Criminal Records Bureau 10 505 95
Identity and Passport Service 10 931 90
Border and Immigration Agency10 20 43,178 82
HM Prison Service11 20 182 100
Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills12 15 2,125 73
UK Intellectual Property Office 15 289 96
Department for International Development 15 3,888 78
Ministry of Justice13 20 4,777 90*
*Letters where Ministers have replied
HM Courts Service 15 28 100**
Land Registry 20 134 97**
HM Prison Service14 20 320 99**
Public Guardianship Office15 15 94 96**
Official Solicitor and Public Trustee 15 31 100**
Tribunals Service 10 1,969 99**
**Letters where Chief Executive/Director General or officials have replied
Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers 20 554 87
Northern Ireland Office 15 432 81
Compensation Agency 10 49 96
Northern Ireland Prison Service 10 69 59
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons 15 475 94
HM Revenue and Customs 1516 4,779 70
* Local Office and "delegated" figures (where local tax offices have replied directly to MPs) 15 1197 6317
Scotland Office 15 95 77
Department for Transport 15 8,406 80
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 7 1,481 87
Driving Standards Agency 10 134 5418
Highways Agency 15 330 94
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency 15 69 100
HM Treasury 15 6,385 84
National Savings and Investments 15 18 78
Office for National Statistics 15 201 90
*Letters where the National Statistician replied on the Ministers’ behalf 10 161* 70
Valuation Office 18 26 73
Treasury Solicitor's Department 10 22 100
Wales Office 15 72 90
Department for Work and Pensions 20 10,379 92
Child Support Agency 15 6,650 92
Debt Management 15 69 100
Disability and Carers Service 15 416 91
Health and Safety Executive 15 259 85
Jobcentre Plus 15 1,727 90
The Pension Service 15 1,186 97
The Rent Service 15 12 100
1. 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. 2. As part of Machinery of Government changes, The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform was formed from the Department of Trade and Industry on 28 June 2007. The statistics include correspondence handling figures from DTI up until 27 June 2007 3. Communities and Local Government have improved performance substantially since 2006. Revision of their processes in February 2007 has led to continued improvement. 4. As part of Machinery of Government changes, The Department for Children, Schools and Families was formed from the Department for Education and Skills on 28 June 2007. The statistics include correspondence handling figures from DFES up until 27 June 2007 5. 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. 6. Drop in performance caused in part by technical difficulties following the implementation of a new handling system. Arrangements have been introduced to improve performance, which has been made a priority by the Secretary of State. The figure for December 2007 was 69 per cent. 7. The percentage of replies within target has increased from 23 per cent in 2006, and performance has steadily improved throughout the year. Many of the letters that the RPA responds to involve complex casework and these take time to resolve effectively. 8. The campaign correspondence exclusively concerned regulations relating to the marketing of infant and follow-on formula and a delay resulting from finalisation of those regulations. 9. As part of Machinery of Government changes, the Respect Task Force moved to the Department for Children, Schools and Families on 28 June 2007. The figures include performance of the Respect Task Force up to and including 27 June. 10. Former Immigration and Nationality Directorate prior to 1 April 2007 11. As part of Machinery of Government changes, the Office of Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) and the National Offender Management Service/HM Prison Service moved to the Ministry of Justice on 5 May 2007. The above figures include performance of the OCJR and the HM Prison Service up to and including 4 May. 12. As part of Machinery of Government changes, The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was formed from parts of the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Trade and Industry on 28 June 2007. Figures are for 28 June 2007 onwards. 13. The Ministry of Justice was formed from the Department for Constitutional Affairs and part of the Home Office on 9 May 2007 14. Part of the Home Office until 4 May 2007; figures for only 9 May-31 December 2007 15. Former Public Guardianship Office prior to 1 October 2007 16 HMRC reduced response targets from 18 days to 15 days 17. Performance significantly improved in the last quarter of 2007 when the average clearance time was reduced to less than 10 days 18 Drop in performance following changes in the way correspondence statistics are collected. The necessary measures have been implemented to improve performance.

Secondary information

Type
Written statement
Reference
700 c42-6WS 
Session
2007-08
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Subjects
Executive agencies Correspondence Government departments Members Peers Standards
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written statement on www.publications.parliament.uk