Skip to main content

Questions for Written Answer

Volume 716: debated on Monday 11 January 2010

Questions

Asked by

To ask the Leader of the House what changes have taken place in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to enable it to answer Questions for Written Answer within 14 days, in view of the department's performance in the 2008–09 Session to 30 April, when it was the second worst department with 32 per cent of questions answered within 14 days. [HL767]

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has introduced a range of new management and procedures to ensure it answers questions on time. For example, procedures now ensure that Questions, once ready for reply, are sent to Hansard immediately.

From Questions due for reply in June 2009 to December 2009, the proportion of Questions, cleared for response within 14 days, has been consecutively 83 per cent, 94 per cent, 58 per cent, 75 per cent, 88 per cent, 98 per cent, and 87 per cent.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers and officials take very seriously their responsibility to reply to Parliamentary Questions on time.

Asked by

To ask the Leader of the House whether she will publish the analysis of the number of Questions for Written Answer directed to each department between 30 April and the end of the Session, together with the number and percentage of those Questions which were not answered within 14 days. [HL898]

The table below sets out information on the number of Questions for Written Answer tabled and answered within 14 days by department.

MayJuneJulyAugust

Department

Total

In 14

%

Total

In 14

%

Total

In 14

%

Total

In 14

%

AGO

1

1

100

0

0

n/a

1

1

100

0

0

n/a

CLG

15

13

87

21

21

100

35

33

95

1

1

100

CO

25

9

36

24

14

58

32

22

69

1

0

0

DCMS

19

11

58

16

12

75

44

32

72

1

0

0

DECC

41

22

54

13

5

38

16

9

56

4

0

0

DEFRA

39

35

90

39

38

97

41

41

100

0

0

n/a

BIS

11

5

45

29

15

52

24

14

58

0

0

0

DCSF

31

23

74

25

17

68

23

14

61

0

0

n/a

DFID

23

20

87

12

I1

92

9

9

100

7

7

100

DFT

35

35

100

48

47

98

49

46

94

0

0

n/a

DOH

113

102

90

125

121

97

126

107

85

27

0

0

DWP

12

4

33

19

16

84

18

16

88

0

0

n/a

FCO

93

68

73

72

60

83

72

68

94

12

7

58

GEO

8

3

38

8

1

13

9

6

67

3

0

0

HMT*

39

26

67

43

30

70

66

64

97

0

0

n/a

HO

146

56

38

43

25

58

111

51

46

9

0

0

MOD

25

24

96

23

20

90

43

37

86

9

4

44

MOJ

43

39

91

33

31

94

62

61

98

13

7

54

NIO

52

31

60

28

17

61

58

55

95

3

0

0

SO

2

1

50

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

WO

1

1

100

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

DIUS

19

11

58

3

0

0

See BIS

See BIS

793

540

68%

624

501

80%

839

686

82%

90

26

29%

SeptemberOctoberNov (up to 18th)

Department

Total

In l4

%

Total

In 14

%

Total

In 14

%

AGO

0

0

n/a

5

5

100

1

0

0

CLG

7

2

29

15

7

47

17

13

77

CO

5

2

40

8

8

100

18

15

83

DCMS

3

1

33

16

7

44

7

7

100

DECC

4

0

0

45

31

69

2

1

50

DEFRA

7

7

100

16

15

94

42

40

95

BIS

I1

6

55

22

20

91

7

7

100

DCSF

3

0

0

17

17

100

16

15

94

DFID

4

4

100

4

3

80

5

4

80

DFT

10

7

70

56

56

100

11

11

100

DOH

16

15

94

35

28

80

36

36

100

DWP

6

4

66

13

2

15

20

13

65

FCO

8

6

75

25

23

88

80

78

98

GEO

0

0

n/a

4

4

100

7

7

100

HMT*

32

29

91

27

26

96

32

28

88

HO

4

0

0

17

15

88

62

54

87

MOD

13

7

54

19

15

80

50

40

80

MOJ

9

9

100

6

6

100

33

29

88

NIO

3

0

0

27

18

67

27

17

63

SO

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

WO

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

0

0

n/a

DIUS

See BIS

See BIS

See BIS

145

99

68%

377

306

81%

473

415

88%

Asked by

To ask the Leader of the House further to her Written Answer on 3 December (WA 77), in respect of how many of the Questions that were not answered before the end of the 2008–09 Session was an apology sent to the Member concerned for not having been answered within 14 days. [HL899]

I remain determined that departments take seriously their responsibilities to answer Questions on time and continue to reinforce that message with them. My office urged all those departments concerned to provide substantive Answers to the six Questions for Written Answer referred to in my Written Answer of 3 December. The precise terms in which they did so are, of course, a matter for the departments themselves.