Sir Julian Lewis:  To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list each Department which (a) continues to and (b) no longer provides telephone numbers to Members of Parliament for its (i) Parliamentary Branch and (ii) for its Correspondence Section to pursue constituents' concerns; and whether it is government policy to prevent parliamentarians being able to speak directly to ministers' Private Office staff.  [32906]

[Due for Answer on 27 February]

ANSWER

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Abena Oppong-Asari): The List of Ministerial Responsibilities, published on GOV.UK, provides Members of Parliament with contact details for each Government department. It provides a single point of contact for each department, through which all Members of Parliament can pursue constituents’ concerns. This policy has been in place since October 2023 and was introduced following security advice. As outlined in the Guide to Handling Correspondence, also published on GOV.UK, the default method of correspondence with Government departments is via official departmental email addresses.