Transparency data

Data on Responses to Correspondence from MPs and Peers in Q1 2023 (HTML)

Published 19 October 2023

The Government attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence. The Cabinet Office is publishing this correspondence data to enable transparency and to demonstrate the total volume of correspondence received by Government Departments and Agencies from Members of Parliament and Peers between January and March 2023.

The deadlines set by Government Departments and Agencies for responding to correspondence from Members of Parliament and Peers should not exceed 20 working days, and Departments and Agencies are advised to consider setting more challenging deadlines than 20 working days to ensure a better minimum service level.

In Q1 Government departments received a total of 29,924 cases of correspondence. Of these, 60% were responded to within the 20 working day target outlined in the Guide to Handling Correspondence. In Q1 agencies received a total of 26,553 cases of correspondence. Of these, 96% were responded to within the 20 working day target.

Department	Target Response time (Working Days)	Total Number of MP correspondence received	% of cases responded to within target response time	% of cases responded to within 20 working days
Total	-	29,924	55%	60%
Attorney General’s Office	20 Days	52	83%	83%
Cabinet Office	20 Days	488	80%	80%
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy[footnote 1]	15 Days	4,279	39%	52%
Department for Culture, Media and Sport[footnote 2]	20 Days	836	63%	63%
Department for Education	18 Days	2,143	74%	75%
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs	20 Days	2,857	47%	47%
Department for International Trade[footnote 3]	15 Days	109	69%	73%
Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities	20 Days	2,076	24%	24%
Department for Transport	7 Days	1,565	48%	82%
Department for Work and Pensions	20 Days	1,662	72%	72%
Department of Health and Social Care	20 Days	4,498	44%	44%
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office	20 Days	1,571	83%	83%
HM Revenue and Customs	15 Days	2,217	53%	64%
HM Treasury	20 Days	2,279	45%	45%
Home Office	20 Days	1,809	80%	80%
Ministry of Defence	20 Days	794	91%	91%
Ministry of Justice	15 Days	480	76%	88%
Northern Ireland Office	20 Days	82	88%	88%
Office of the Leader of the House of Commons	15 Days	16	63%	75%
Office of the Leader of the House of Lords	10 Days	1	100%	100%
Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland	20 Days	103	98%	98%
Office of the Secretary of State for Wales	15 Days	7	71%	71%

Agency	Target Response time (Working Days)	Total Number of MP correspondence received	% of cases responded to within target response time	% of cases responded to within 20 working days
Total	-	26,553	95%	96%
Building Digital UK	20 Days	43	88%	88%
Charity Commission	20 Days	45	96%	96%
Competition Markets Authority	15 Days	40	70%	80%
Crown Prosecution Service	20 Days	87	78%	78%
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency	8 Days	1,303	80%	100%
Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency	10 Days	137	100%	100%
Equality Hub	20 Days	170	78%	78%
Food Standards Agency	20 Days	13	100%	100%
Health and Safety Executive	10 Days	35	80%	97%
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service	15 Days	415	74%	91%
HM Land Registry	15 Days	175	93%	100%
HM Prison and Probation Service	15 Days	259	84%	90%
HMPO/UK Visas and Immigration/Immigration Enforcement/Border Force[footnote 4]	20 Days	23,300	97%	97%
HMRC Policy[footnote 5]	20 Days	102	51%	51%
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency	18 Days	31	16%	19%
National Archives	20 Days	3	100%	100%
National Crime Agency	10 Days	1	0%	0%
Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED)	15 Days	56	64%	84%
Office of the Public Guardian	15 Days	33	66%	79%
The Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (OFGEM)	15 Days	242	94%	98%
Serious Fraud Office	20 Days	4	100%	100%
The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (OFQUAL)	20 Days	13	100%	100%
UK Health Security Agency	20 Days	21	86%	86%
UK Statistics Authority / Office for National Statistics	10 Days	25	76%	100%

1. On 7 February 2023, the Prime Minister announced Machinery of Government (MoG) changes to create three new government departments: the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT); as well as a refocused Department for Culture, Media and Sport. With Cabinet Office approval, DESNZ has provided correspondence performance data for Q1 and Q2 as the pre-MoG Department, BEIS. ↩

2. Per the aforementioned MoG changes, DCMS performance data includes correspondence for policy areas transferred to DSIT, alongside its own caseload. ↩

3. DBT began processing cases previously managed by ex-BEIS on 5th June. ↩

4. As a consequence of the evacuation of Afghanistan, invasion of Ukraine and a surge in passport queries, the Home Office received an unprecedented volume of MPs Correspondence from August 2021 to August 2022 leading to a large stock of out of service standard cases in operational parts of the department. A subsequent recovery plan ensured that by the end of January the stock of out of service standard cases had decreased to frictional levels. This has enabled the Home Office’s operational areas to now focus on newly submitted correspondence meaning that, since the end of January, service standards have met. Where possible, an official will respond to straightforward cases by telephone or email for expediency. ↩

5. These are cases drafted by HMRC policy and signed by HM Treasury Ministers. ↩