To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his latest estimate is of the number of letters received by each HM Revenue and Customs office where processing has not yet been concluded. (224258)

[holding answer 17 September 2008]: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has received over 25 million items of post (letters and forms) from customers in the last 12 months.

As at end of August 2008, HMRC estimates that there were approximately 1.2 million items of post due to be processed, which represents approximately two weeks worth of post received.

This is within HMRC’s normal expectation for this time of year and reflects the fact that volumes of work outstanding are affected by seasonal demands.

This information is not held by individual HMRC offices.