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 17 March 2026 to Question 119365 on Members: Dual Jobholding, whether he plans to amend the House of Commons Code of Conduct to ban hon. Members taking secondary employment through speakers’ bureaus and paid speaking engagements.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon. Member to the response provided to his question 119365.
I look forward to working with the Committee on Standards as it continues its inquiry into MPs’ employment and outside interests.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to HM Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee, WRP0015, published 28 January 2026, paragraph 29, what steps is the Leader of the House taking to address the inconsistencies on the approach to written questions and the Freedom of Information Act in relation to written answers by the Cabinet Office.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
It is a matter for individual departments to determine how to respond to parliamentary questions from Members.
The Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work), published by my office, sets out the government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. Paragraph 221 states that “if information would be released under FOI, it would also be released in response to a WPQ”.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to WPQs - including their obligations to disclose information in WPQs that would be released under FOI.
I continue to encourage Hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself or my office.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee, WRP0015, published 28 January 2026, paragraph 14, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the quality of answers received on the number of written Parliamentary Questions tabled.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
I refer the Hon. Member to paragraphs 15-18 of the Government’s submission to the Procedure Committee (WRP0015).
The quality of answers provided to Members is of equal importance to the timeliness of the response. However, the Government notes the significant and sustained increase in the volume of WPQs this session, which inevitably has an impact on the quality of the answers.
I look forward to working with the Procedure Committee as it continues its inquiry into written parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Adam Jogee (Labour - Newcastle-under-Lyme)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he will take to allow Members to vote by proxy if a family member is dying or has died.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is always seeking to ensure that the balance is right and that we retain a robust voting system. Any changes to the voting system must be given careful consideration and should only ever be taken forwards when there is a clear consensus for change across the House.
The Procedure Committee has committed to conducting a further review of the proxy voting scheme later in the Parliament, and I would encourage the Hon. Member to engage with the Committee when it undertakes that work. Should the Committee consider the further extension of the proxy voting scheme as part of that review, the Government would give careful consideration to any recommendations from the Committee on this matter.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking to ensure named day Written Parliamentary Questions are answered in a timely manner.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to scrutinise Ministers, and hold the Government to account. I expect Hon. Members to receive timely and helpful responses to their questions.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Departmental Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to parliamentary questions.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into WPQs to which the Government has provided written evidence (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/161782/pdf/), and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Further to the question the Hon. Member raised with me at Business Questions on 26 March, I have pursued the matter with the Cabinet Office, and have been informed that the Hon. Gentleman has received the response that he sought.
I continue to encourage Hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself or my office.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps hon. Members can take to seek answers to Named Day parliamentary questions in instances where those questions are not answered by the day named in the question.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Parliament has a right to scrutinise Ministers, and hold the Government and public bodies to account. I expect Hon. Members to receive timely and helpful responses to their questions.
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into WPQs to which the Government has provided written evidence (available at: https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/161782/pdf/), and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Further to the question the Hon. Member raised with me during the Business Question on Thursday 26 March 2026, I raised the matter with the Cabinet Office and have been informed that the Hon. Member has now received a response.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the number of Impact Assessments for Bills that were published late in the process.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Guide to Making Legislation makes clear that, when they are required, impact assessments should be published alongside bills. Government departments are responsible for publication of any required impact assessments.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to introduce a ban on second jobs for hon. Members.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
As outlined in our manifesto, the Government is committed to the principle that second jobs for Members of Parliament should be banned outside of very limited exceptions, such as maintaining professional qualifications.
The Committee on Standards is currently undertaking an inquiry into MPs’ employment and outside interests, and I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Departmental answers to written Parliamentary Questions where information is refused because a document is not already in the public domain.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
As set out in the Ministerial Code, Ministers "should be as open as possible with Parliament and the public, refusing to provide information only when disclosure would not be in the public interest".
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks and Permanent Secretaries to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs).
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into WPQs, and I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.
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 20 November 2025 to Question 91457 on Written Questions: Government Responses, if he will publish his letter.
Answered by Alan Campbell - 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.