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Departmental Written Questions

Volume 490: debated on Friday 27 March 2009

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average time taken by his Department to answer parliamentary questions for (a) ordinary and (b) named day written answer was in the latest period for which information is available. (255148)

Until 26 January 2009 this task was shared by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Parliamentary Units who monitored all parliamentary questions. This responsibility transferred to the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Parliamentary Unit on its creation on 26 January 2009.

A DECC for December have been answered and the Department currently has nine outstanding questions that were tabled for answer in January 2009.

Parliamentary Unit does record average times taken to reply to questions. Processes are now in place that provides the following information:

Written parliamentary questions: As at 25 March 2009

February (Number)

Monthly PQs

277

Total PQs

520

Answered within five days

36

Answered between six and 10 days

134

Answered between 11 and 15 days

35

Answered between 16 and 20 days

23

Answered 21 days or over

11

Transferred

1

Lords

41

Named day PQs

February (Number)

Total named day questions per month

32

Answered on day

0

Answered within five days

13