Written Questions

Mr. Heald
To ask the Leader of the House if he will bring forward proposals for the electronic provision of answers to hon. Members who ask written parliamentary questions.

Mr. Straw
The proof of concept database which allows the electronic exchange of parliamentary answers between Government Departments and the House of Commons (ePC) has recently been reviewed by Domain Technologies. The review was funded by the Leader's office and the authorities of the House of Commons.

It is my intention to proceed to the next stage in its development.

Mr. Heald
To ask the Leader of the House if he will place in the Library a copy of the internal guidance detailing the administrative procedure by which written parliamentary questions are (a) placed in the Library, (b) sent to the hon. Member who asked the question and (c) made available to the Press Gallery.

Mr. Straw
Good practice followed by all Government Departments is that the answers should be available to hon. Members prior to them being distributed elsewhere in the House, e.g. Library, Hansard, Press Gallery etc.