Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether in his meetings with the Benefits Director he has discussed the process of replies being sent to hon. Members.

The Secretary of State holds regular meetings with the Director General, Operations to discuss operational matters and performance. The process of replies being sent to hon. Members has not featured in discussions to date, primarily because the Department’s performance in respect of the timeliness of responses is broadly on track. For the calendar year 2016, 89% of responses to hon. Members were issued within 15 days, against a target of 90% in 15 days. The 90% target reflects the fact that some matters raised by hon. Members can be particularly complex and, in such cases, it is not always possible to respond within 15 days.