Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many and what proportion of ministerial letters have been signed on behalf of Ministers in their absence in the last 12 months.

This information is not held and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

In line with the guidance on handling Ministerial correspondence, the Cabinet Office ensures that all correspondence, wherever possible, is personally hand-signed by the appropriate responsible Minister.

Guidance to Departments on handling correspondence is available on Gov.uk - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/441892/Cabinet_Office_Guidance_on_correspondence.pdf