The House of Commons Procedure Committee has published its latest report monitoring the timeliness of Departments in answering written questions from MPs.
- Read the report conclusions
- Read the full report: Monitoring of written Parliamentary questions: progress report for Session 2015-16
Monitoring of performance
The Committee has found a general increase in the performance of departments across the board. Nine in ten standard questions for written answer are now answered within five sitting days, while over eight in ten priority questions are answered on the day the MP has specified.
The Committee acknowledges the general improvement in performance by Departments, but notes that some departments — the Home Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Energy and Climate Change — were performing well below expectations in the last Session.
The Committee is now able to monitor Departmental performance more regularly, and in the last session invited Home Office and DCMS Ministers to discuss the action taken by their Departments to reduce delays in answering questions tabled by MPs.