Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2025 to Question 37209 on Government Departments: Written Questions, whether it is her policy that if information would be released under the Environmental Information Regulations it should also be released in response to a written Parliamentary Question.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to Question 37209, which answers his question.
I encourage the Hon. Member to raise any specific issues they may have regarding PQ responses with myself and my office.
Asked by: Toby Perkins (Labour - Chesterfield)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many (a) oral statements, (b) urgent questions, (c) end of day adjournment debates and (d) Westminster Hall debates each Department has responded to since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Urgent questions, adjournment debates and Westminster Hall debates are a matter for the House. Information relating to each of these is available on the Parliament website.
The Government is responsible for the arrangement of oral statements. As of 3rd April 2025, there have been 129 oral statements from the following departments:
Department | Number of oral statements |
Department for Business and Trade | 8 |
Cabinet Office | 9 |
Department for Culture, Media and Sport | 4 |
Ministry of Defence | 7 |
Department for Education | 8 |
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 8 |
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs | 4 |
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | 20 |
Department of Health and Social Care | 8 |
Home Office | 15 |
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government | 8 |
Ministry of Justice | 6 |
Northern Ireland Office | 2 |
Prime Minister | 6 |
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 2 |
Department for Transport | 5 |
Treasury | 6 |
Department for Work and Pensions | 3 |
Asked by: Simon Opher (Labour - Stroud)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on bringing forward legislative proposals to tighten eligibility for Personal Independence Payments.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
As Leader of the House of Commons (and Chair of the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee), I meet regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss legislation and other matters. Recently announced changes to PIP eligibility will be brought forward in primary legislation in due course.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2024 to Question 8807 on Government Departments: Written Questions, whether her policy on Freedom of Information requests also applies to Environmental Information Regulation requests
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government’s policy on answers to Written Parliamentary Questions and Questions for Written Answer is set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work). The guidance contains no reference to Environmental Information Regulation requests. The Information Commissioner's Office provides guidance and resources for public authorities and the public about the Freedom of Information Act and the Environment Information Regulations, available online at ico.org.uk.
Asked by: Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour - Calder Valley)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many social media accounts her Department operates; and how much her Department spent on social media (a) subscriptions and (b) advertisements on each social media platform in each of the last three years.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the response provided by the Cabinet Office (35133).
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons currently operates three social media accounts, with no subscription or advertisement cost.
Asked by: Chris Bloore (Labour - Redditch)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether their Department offers (a) paid time off work and (b) other support to employees who become kinship carers.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the response provided by the Cabinet Office (33179).
Asked by: Clive Jones (Liberal Democrat - Wokingham)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if she will take steps with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to ensure that written Parliamentary questions are answered on time.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account. I have written to all members of Cabinet to remind Ministers of their responsibilities to provide helpful and timely responses to Members' PQs.
The Procedure Committee monitors individual department’s PQ performance and it recently published a report into performance in the 2023–24 Session (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8673/written-parliamentary-questions-departmental-performance-in-session-202324/publications/). I look forward to working with the Committee on this and other matters.
I encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.
Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Prime Minister's oral contribution of 5 February 2025, Official Report, column 742, on which topics the Government has offered Privy Council briefings to opposition Privy Councellors in the last 36 months.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
This information is not held centrally. It is for Government Ministers to determine when information is shared on Privy Council Terms, on a case by case basis, and in a manner appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances.
Asked by: Ben Spencer (Conservative - Runnymede and Weybridge)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to provide parliamentary scrutiny of Government involvement in amendments to the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill by hon. Members not on the bill committee.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
While the Government have a neutral position on the principles of the Bill, we have a responsibility to ensure that any Bill passed by the House is workable and operable. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill was passed by the House at Second Reading, and the Government has therefore been in discussion with the Member in charge about the Bill’s deliverability and the overall coherence of the statute book.
The Member in charge has tabled amendments based on these discussions. It is for the Committee to decide whether to accept each amendment. As with any Public Bill Committee, any Member can table amendments to the Bill during the Committee’s consideration, and Members not appointed to the Committee are free to observe the Committee’s proceedings (although only Members of the Committee can speak or move tabled amendments). Following the Committee stage, the whole House will have a further opportunity to scrutinise the Bill at Report stage.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, pursuant to the Answer of 17 January 2025 to Question 23890 on Government Bills: Impact Assessments, whether her letter to Cabinet colleagues made reference to the publication of impact assessments before the First Reading of bills.
Answered by Lucy Powell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
It is a long-established precedent that internal government correspondence is not normally shared publicly.