To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff work in his Department's parliamentary branch; and what proportion of their time is spent on dealing with (a) parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from hon. Members and peers. (174956)

Within the Ministry of Justice there are eight members of staff in the parliamentary branch of which four work solely on parliamentary questions. The correspondence from hon. Members and peers is dealt with by the Ministerial Correspondence Unit of which five work solely on their correspondence.