To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many questions tabled for answer on a named day his Department received in each of the last 12 months; and to how many such questions his Department provided a substantive answer on the day named. (305381)

Out of the 115 named day questions received for 2009 to date (as at 4 December), the Northern Ireland Office has answered 89 questions substantively on the day named. This equates to 77 per cent. The following table provides a breakdown per month.

Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the “Guide to Parliamentary Work” at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx

In the response to the Procedure Committee report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee’s recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day. (307549)

Out of the 122 named day questions received for 2008-09 to date (as at 4 December), the Northern Ireland Office has answered 94 questions substantively on the day named. This equates to 77 per cent. The following table provides a breakdown per month.

Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the “Guide to Parliamentary Work”, at:

http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/parliamentary-clerk-guide.aspx

In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accepted the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.