Departmental Correspondence

Sarah Teather
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of inquiries received by his Department from the public were responded to within (a) one week, (b) 14 days, (c) 28 days, (d) two months and (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond.

Maria Eagle
My Department has a target to respond to letters from the public within 15 working days. From 1 January to 31 October 2007, 6,536 separate pieces of correspondence (including e-mails) were answered with the target met in 91 per cent. of cases.

The more detailed information the hon. Member has requested is not readily available and could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.