Correspondence

Mr. Amess
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 28 June 2006, Official Report, column 416W, on correspondence, what estimate she has made of the cost of answering the question; and if she will make a statement.

Angela E. Smith
It is not possible to separately identify the average cost of officials’ time in replying to letters from hon. Members and members of the public. Such correspondence is often of a varied and complex nature. Therefore any exercise to determine the average cost in officials’ time in responding to letters would incur disproportionate cost.

It is not possible to separately identify stationery and postage costs for the Department when replying to correspondence from hon. Members and members of the public.