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Written question asked by Lord Agnew of Oulton (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 June 2025, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 3 July 2025. It was answered by Lord Livermore (Labour) on Thursday, 26 June 2025 on behalf of the Treasury.


Treasury: Correspondence

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to page 41 of their policy paper Spending Review 2025: Departmental Efficiency Plans, published on 11 June, what was the average cost per case in 2024–25 for (1) ministerial, and (2) public correspondence in the Treasury; and what is the projected average cost per case under the automated correspondence system.

Answer

Due to correspondence being just one role officials have, the potential for multiple officials to be involved, and differing complexity per case, we do not currently attribute precise staff time spent per case. Therefore, we are unable to provide an average cost per case for ministerial or public correspondence in 2024–25.

However, as set out in the Departmental Efficiency Plans, the adoption of AI-driven automation is expected to both speed up casework and reduce overall costs. We anticipate efficiency gains relative to current arrangements. Further detail will be available once the automated tools are fully developed and deployed and the impact assessed in terms of central resource and time savings.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL8632
Session
2024-26
Related items
Spending Review 2025
Wednesday, 11 June 2025
Command papers
House of Commons
House of Lords
Subjects
Costs Correspondence Treasury Automation
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk