Michael Gove's department 'is shambolic and chaotic'

Michael Gove was today urged to take control of his "shambolic and chaotic" department after MPs complained their letters and questions were going unanswered.

Labour went on the attack as ministers admitted that more than 4,500 letters from MPs in nine months had not had a reply within a three-week target.

Figures also showed that only 10 per cent of parliamentary questions were answered on time. Shadow education minister Iain Wright complained to Commons Speaker John Bercow saying: "It is not good enough. A school child who had done only 10 per cent of their homework would get detention."

He said the issue, coming after controversies around funding for school buildings and sports partnerships, showed the Department for Education was in chaos. He told the Standard: "Michael Gove is not in charge of his department. He needs to get a grip."

Mr Bercow called for the matter to be addressed. A spokeswoman for the department put the delays down to an avalanche of letters and a computer glitch. "The department has received a much higher volume of correspondence than usual in the last few months and we apologise for not reaching our usual three-week target for responses."