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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Found: A weekly Business Statement made by the Leader of the House of Commons sets out the future business

Found: A weekly Business Statement made by the Leader of the House of Commons sets out the future business

Found: and Labour MPs are: the Northern Ireland Office; the Scotland Office and the Office of the Leader of the House

Found: who receives an unsatisfactory answer can table further questions, raise the matter with the Leader of the House

Found: Procedure Committee Oral evidence: Work of the Leader of the House 10 12 25, HC 509 Wednesday 10 December

Found: from Lord Strathclyde, Chair of the Constitution Committee to The Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP, Leader of the House

Found: Letter from the Leader of the House relating to the passage and scrutiny of the Railways Bill, dated

Question

To ask the Leader of the House what was the cost of answering Questions for Written Answer about Israel and Gaza in the past two years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Basildon - Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal

In the past two years the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Department have received 323 Questions for Written Answer from Members of the House of Lords on Israel and/or Gaza. There would be a disproportionate cost in seeking to identify the exact cost of answering each question, the maximum total cost to the Department to answer all 323 is up to £274, 550.

Found: Will the Leader of the House find time for a debate on the matter?

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