To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members’ correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available. (158582)

The Wales Office complies with Cabinet Office guidelines for the maximum time for responding to correspondence.

The Wales Office publishes correspondence statistics in its annual report and to the Cabinet Office for their annual report to Parliament.

The latest figures for April 2006 to March 2007 were 93 per cent. of correspondence answered within 15 days of receipt.