Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what mechanisms are available to hon. Members to seek clarification or further information when a Department or public body is considered not to have provided a full or clear response to a Written Parliamentary 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 both timely and helpful responses to their questions.
There are a number of mechanisms available to Members such as raising concerns on the floor of the House, including with myself at the weekly Business Question, or by writing to the relevant department or public body. I would also encourage Hon. Members to speak with myself or my office to further pursue these matters.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs, and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what steps hon. Members can take to seek additional information from the Government in instances where a response to a written parliamentary question is considered incomplete or unclear.
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 both timely and helpful responses to their questions.
There are a number of mechanisms available to Members such as raising concerns on the floor of the House, including with myself at the weekly Business Question, or by writing to the relevant department or public body. I would also encourage Hon. Members to speak with myself or my office to further pursue these matters.
In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental performance in responding to Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs). The Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs, and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Asked by: Joe Morris (Labour - Hexham)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of improving parliamentary scrutiny procedures for international trade agreements.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
Effective parliamentary scrutiny of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) is vital. The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 (CRaG) gives Parliament the statutory right to scrutinise treaties prior to ratification, and includes the power to block ratification. Parliament must also pass legislation that may be necessary to implement a treaty.
In addition, the House of Commons Business and Trade Committee plays an important role in scrutinising the Government’s trade policy.
Taken together, the current framework facilitates robust parliamentary scrutiny of FTAs.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
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 Question: Government Responses, if he will undertake an assessment of whether the Cabinet Office provides full and helpful responses to Parliamentary Questions.
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. However, Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and I am committed to ensuring that Members receive full and timely responses.
I encourage hon. Members to raise any specific issues they may have with myself and my office.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what assessment has been made of practices of Hon. Members who will not respond to correspondence from overseas electors who are assigned to their Parliamentary constituency.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government recognises the importance of MPs responding to correspondence in a timely and consistent manner. It is for each individual MP to determine how best to perform their parliamentary duties, including the management of correspondence from constituents resident in the UK and overseas. MPs are ultimately accountable to their constituents at the ballot box.
Asked by: Caroline Johnson (Conservative - Sleaford and North Hykeham)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, how many and what proportion of Named Day written questions were answered (a) on time and (b) late (i) by Department and (ii) in total.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested is not held by the Government. Data on response times to written parliamentary questions (PQs) is published following the end of every session by the House of Commons Procedure Committee as part of their continued monitoring and reporting of departmental PQ performance.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, whether he plans to introduce measures to prevent Members of Parliament receiving income for posted content from social media platforms.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Government is committed to restoring a politics of service, consistent with the high standards expected of public officeholders. That is why, within a month of the election, the Government brought forward proposals to tighten the rules around MPs’ outside interests, and deliver on our manifesto commitment to ban paid advocacy. We welcome the ongoing work by the Committee on Standards to review the rules relating to MPs’ outside interests, and look forward to receiving its findings.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to paragraph 221 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, how many answers to Written Parliamentary Questions have (a) declined to provide information on the grounds that it should be sought via the Freedom of Information Act 2000, and (b) withheld information that would ordinarily be disclosable under that Act in this Parliament; what steps he is taking to ensure departmental compliance with that principle; what data his office holds on the (i) number of such (A) answers and (B) subsequent corrections and (ii) departmental performance against (1) timeliness and (2) completeness standards; and if he will place in the Library a list of such answers, including UIN and date, broken down by department.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The information requested is not held by the Government. Data on response times to written parliamentary questions (PQs) is published following the end of every session by the House of Commons Procedure Committee.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to parliamentary questions.
As the Hon. Member will be aware, the Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and their sessional reporting continues to be an effective tool to hold Departments to account.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, further to the Point of Order of 30 October 2025, Official Report, Column 350-351, by the Right Hon Member for Basildon and Billericay, on Written Parliamentary Questions, if the Leader of the House will raise this issue with Ministers in the Department for Transport.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 - as set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work - is unchanged.
Following the Point of Order from the Hon. Member, I understand the Minister for Roads and Buses has written to him on this matter. The Department for Transport has issued an apology, provided the relevant information released through an FOI request and corrected the initial Written Parliamentary Question.
More widely, I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to parliamentary questions.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, with reference to the Point of Order from the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay of 29 October 2025, what recent guidance he has sent to Departments on paragraph 221 of the Guide to Parliamentary Work, published in November 2024.
Answered by Alan Campbell - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The government's position regarding the relationship between the treatment of requests for information through parliamentary questions and the Freedom of Information Act 2000 - as set out in the Guide to Parliamentary Work - is unchanged.
I have written to all Members of Cabinet and spoken with Departmental Parliamentary Clerks to remind departments and Ministers about the importance of providing full and helpful responses to parliamentary questions.