Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what guidance he issues to Departments on whether they may decline to publish or signpost information which has otherwise been released to members of the public under Freedom of Information laws.

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.

In addition, the House of Commons Procedure Committee recently launched an inquiry into WPQs which is considering the interaction between WPQs and FOIs. I look forward to working with the Committee as this work progresses.