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Last updated: 25 November 2008
13. The right of MPs to take up constituents' cases and other issues directly with Government is an important part of the democratic process and underlines the accountability of Ministers to Parliament. It is essential that MPs receive carefully considered and prompt responses to their enquiries. Every effort should be made to provide an MP with a substantive reply in good time.
14. A substantive reply is where the response answers all or most of the points or questions raised in any correspondence.
15. Departments must ensure that:
(i) all replies to letters from MPs are of the highest quality - accurate, clear and helpful .
(ii) every effort is made to reply promptly and in line with departments' own published standards for answering ministerial correspondence .
16. Replies to correspondence should be properly referenced. Where the incoming item of correspondence has a reference number, this must be quoted in the reply.
17. As a matter of course, replies should be sent to the originating office of the correspondence (ie either the Parliamentary or constituency office) unless indicated otherwise by the Member concerned.
18. Where an MP has included a constituent's details in their correspondence, Departments should refer to the constituent's full address (including postcode) in the reply. Officials should consider whether there is a need to consult with colleagues in other departments, Agencies or with officials in the devolved administrations, when drafting replies. Officials must ensure that any consultation does not breach the confidentiality of the MP, or those of his or her constituent.
19. Where it is not possible to provide a full substantive reply within departmental targets, departments should issue a 'holding' reply.
20. 'Holding' replies should:
(i) apologise that it will not be possible to send a substantive reply within departmental targets; and
(ii) explain the reason(s) for the delay, set out the action that is being taken to answer the MP's enquiries; and tell the MP when he or she can expect a substantive reply.
21. 'Holding' replies should be used infrequently. Every effort must be made to reply to correspondence from MPs promptly and within the original deadline . A 'holding' reply will not count as a clearance of a case in respect of Departments' performance on handling correspondence . The original target date for reply will remain the same regardless of whether a holding reply is issued. Due to the complicated nature of some cases (eg a complex case about a Member's constituent) it may not always be possible to provide a substantive reply within department targets.
22. There will be occasions where correspondence needs to be transferred to another department for substantive reply. However, correspondence should only be transferred after officials in the receiving department have agreed to accept the letter. Departments accepting transferred correspondence should let the sending department know as soon as possible. All transfers should be agreed within 3 working days and the original correspondence transferred as soon as possible. Responsibility for all transfers lies with the transferring department until the transfer has been agreed. The MP should be informed about the transfer of his or her letter by the transferring department as soon as possible and the reason(s) for the transfer should be explained. This will help the offices of MPs when tracking the progress of their correspondence and in the allocation of future correspondence.
23. Correspondence from MPs (and others) to UK Ministers, which deals solely with devolved matters will normally be transferred to the appropriate devolved administration for substantive reply. Further guidance on handling correspondence on devolved matters and from members of devolved legislatures can be found in paragraphs 43-46 and on the DCA website [pdf] . Officials should note that correspondence can only be transferred where this does not breach the confidentiality of the MP or those of his or her constituent.
24. Departments may wish to refer to the List of Ministerial Responsibilities and the Civil Service Yearbook for help in identifying the correct department to lead on a particular piece of correspondence. Copies of the List of Ministerial Responsibilities can be obtained from the Propriety and Ethics Team on 020 7276 2452 or accessed electronically at List of Ministerial Responsibilities [external site] allowing users to search for individual Ministerial responsibilities on-line.
25. MPs and Peers may write to any department raising a number of issues that fall within the remits of a number of other departments as well as their own. Where this is the case departments should, where possible and practical, co-ordinate a single response seeking contributions from other departments as necessary. Departments may find it helpful to use the attached proforma at Annex B when submitting requests for contributions. All contributions should be returned within 5 working days of any request. If this is not possible because of the complicated nature of the issue (eg a case about an individual that may require additional research) departments should negotiate a realistic timescale to provide a contribution as soon as possible. Every effort should be made to ensure that the responding department is able to reply to the correspondence within their departmental target. To ensure accuracy, all contributions, where possible, should be signed off by the Head of Policy Team/Unit (Grade 7 level or equivalent). Cross-departmental correspondence should be subject to the same departmental response target as other correspondence.
26. Some MPs' letters may require significant research or expertise in another department. On these occasions it may be more appropriate for the department responsible for that issue to reply direct. Therefore, rather than co-ordinate a single reply, departments may judge that it is more appropriate to ask the department responsible to reply direct on that particular issue. The MP should be advised of this and kept informed at all times.
27. Where departments have arranged a co-ordinated reply they should make clear in the final reply which Department/Minister is responsible for any issue that does not fall within their remit.
28. Occasionally disputes between departments may occur on who should handle certain correspondence where it is unclear which department has the lead policy responsibility. Where possible, disputes should be resolved by departmental correspondence units. If departmental correspondence units fail to resolve the dispute, they should raise the matter with the relevant Private Office, who should seek to resolve the dispute with the relevant office in the other department.
29. If disputes have not been resolved within 5 working days the department that originally received the correspondence should draft the response consulting other departments as necessary. Ministers should sign off letters in such cases even if the matter is not strictly a matter for their department. When providing drafts for the Minister's signature in cases where ownership has been disputed, a background note should be attached setting out the reasons why the Minister should sign the reply and from where advice has been sought.
30. As a rule all correspondence to Ministers from MPs should be signed off at an appropriate Ministerial level . Where an MP has written about the day to day operations of an Executive Agency or NDPB, Ministers may authorise the appropriate Chief Executive to reply. Further guidance on the handling of correspondence that relates to Public Bodies can be obtained on the Civil Service website. This apart, official replies to letters from MPs should only be authorised in exceptional circumstances, for example, when dealing with thousands of letters on the same issue which would lead to a significant improvement in departmental performance handling.
31. By convention, all correspondence to Cabinet Ministers (ie Secretaries of State) from Privy Counsellors should be signed off by fellow Privy Counsellors (ie Ministers who are Privy Counsellors, normally Cabinet Ministers) unless a Privy Counsellor has addressed his or her letter to a Minister who is not a Privy Counsellor.
32. The Prime Minister has made it clear that Ministers are responsible for ensuring correspondence is signed off within departmental targets. Where the appropriate Minister is unavailable to sign off correspondence because of absence, departments should consider making arrangements for the Duty Minister to sign in his or her absence.
33. MPs may write to departments about personal matters relating to their constituents and/or attaching confidential information that relates to them or other matters. Where this is the case departments should treat correspondence with great care to ensure that confidentiality is not broken. Only those who have a direct policy interest should have access to the papers/information and account should be taken of the basis on which the confidential information was provided. If there is any doubt, the MP should be consulted about any areas of difficulty that may arise. Departments should also consider the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 in handling and disclosing personal information.
34. MPs may write to departments as part of a larger policy campaign. Due to the differing nature of campaigns, exact advice on how to respond to letters cannot be given. However, departments should remember that all types of correspondence from MPs should be treated equally and any response should be sent within departmental targets. Departments will wish to consider the use of a formulated standard reply when responding to campaign letters on a particular subject.
35. Some MPs prefer to correspond by e-mail. Departments should ensure systems are in place for those MPs who wish to do so. This may include the setting up of e-mail accounts and relevant electronic tracking systems. Departments should ensure systems are robust enough to cope with any increase in e-mail correspondence. Replies should be in the form of an e-mail or in the form requested by the MP unless it is more convenient to write to the Member concerned, for example, if there are various attachments. If replying by e-mail, departments should consider sending a hard copy in addition to any e-mail response.
36. Although e-mails may be generally dealt with more quickly than formal written correspondence, departments should not give priority to e-mails above formal written correspondence. E-mails should be treated and monitored in the same way and subject to the same response targets as formal written correspondence.
37. MPs who send e-mails direct to officials should not expect a Ministerial reply. Therefore, officials may, depending on the nature of the case, respond on the Minister's behalf checking with Private Offices that they are content with the proposed response. Departments will need to judge when it is desirable to bring such e-mails to the attention of Private Offices and Ministers.
38. Departments should also refer to 'Guidance and Protocol on the handling of E-Mails' issued by the Cabinet Office in 2004. The guidance can be obtained on the DCA website [pdf].
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