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Ministers' Correspondence with Members of Parliament

Targets

8. All departments should set targets for replying to correspondence from MPs. These targets (which may be different to the targets set for other types of correspondence) will be published in the annual correspondence report co-ordinated by the Cabinet Office. Individual departments' targets for routine correspondence from MPs should be a maximum of 20 working days. Departments should consider setting themselves more challenging targets. When calculating the target date for reply, the clock should start the day after (Day 1) the correspondence was received.

9. When calculating the response date for correspondence that has been transferred from another department, departments should treat such correspondence in the same way as correspondence sent direct from the MP, ie. the clock should start the day after it was received by the department that agreed to receive the transfer.

10. All correspondence should be replied to within target where possible. However, on occasions, for example due to the complicated nature of a case, it may not be possible to respond to each letter within departmental targets. Where this is the case, departments should continue to set strict targets and ensure all correspondence is responded to as quickly as possible, keeping the MP informed at all times.

11. Departments may also wish to set internal targets for improving their handling of MPs' correspondence. These targets may be set out in departments' Service Delivery Agreements (SDAs) or Public Service Agreements (PSAs).

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