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<p>The Government recognises the importance of responding to members of the public
in an effective and timely manner, and the Cabinet Office published an updated <a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-government-correspondence-guidance"
target="_blank">Guide to Handling Correspondence</a> for government departments and
agencies in July 2021.</p><p> </p><p>The guidance reasserts the standards for handling
correspondence, including a 20 working day deadline for departments to respond to
members of the public, criteria outlining when a response to a member of the public
is required, and when a piece of correspondence from a member of the public should
be transferred to another department. Following publication of the updated guidance,
all departments have been reminded that they must follow the processes outlined in
the guidance.</p><p> </p><p>In April 2021, 72% of Treasury replies were answered within
20 working days. This has increased to 77% as of October 2021 and we are continuing
to make improvements to response times.</p>
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