Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will estimate the total number of ministerial replies from his Department to hon. Members in a parliamentary session; and what proportion of such replies are sent (a) by letter and (b) by email.

Information is not available in the form requested. Reports on the performance of Departments in handling correspondence from hon. Members and peers are published by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General each year and include numbers of letters to which Ministers reply. The report for the calendar year 2013 (Official Report 13 May 2014, 17WS) shows that 16,898 such letters were received by Department for Education Ministers. Most correspondence from hon. Members continues to be received as letters and is replied to in the same format, although Ministers will continue to reply in email form when they consider it appropriate to do so.