Department for Education: Parliamentary Questions
(asked on 31st March 2022) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the average number of working days is that it has taken him in the (a) 2021-22 Parliamentary Session as a whole and (b) in the 2021-22 Parliamentary Session (i) up to 15 September 2021 and (ii) from 16 September 2021 to 31 March 2022 to respond to (A) named day Parliamentary Questions and (B) all other Parliamentary Questions; and how many questions of each type he received in each of those periods.
The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from members of parliament, including written parliamentary questions. Performance for the 2021/22 parliamentary session is above the Procedure Committee target of 85% throughout the period.
The below table provides the average number of working days that it has taken for the department to respond to ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ written parliamentary questions (WPQ) during the 2021/22 Parliamentary Session to the 31 March 2022. It also includes the totals received and the percentage of questions answered within their respective parliamentary deadlines.
| PQ type | WPQ received & due for answer | % answered on time | Average working days to respond |
2021/22 Parliamentary Session | Named Day WPQs | 1,181 | 86.6% | 3.8 |
Ordinary WPQs | 1,914 | 88.2% | 5.7 | |
Total | 3,095 | 87.6% | - | |
WPQs received 11/05/21 - 15/09/21 | Named Day WPQs | 388 | 90.5% | 4.1 |
Ordinary WPQs | 603 | 85.4% | 5.9 | |
Total | 991 | 87.4% | - | |
WPQs received 16/09/21 - 31/03/22 | Named Day WPQs | 793 | 84.7% | 3.6 |
Ordinary WPQs | 1,311 | 89.5% | 5.6 | |
Total | 2,104 | 87.7% | - |
Footnotes: |
1. Data is based on the number of written parliamentary questions (WPQs) received and answered by the Department for Education as at 07/04/22. |
2. MPs may table questions, specifying the date on which they should receive an answer (a Named Day WPQ). MPs must give a minimum of two days notice. However, they may also pick a date further in the future. This can impact the average number of working days to respond. |
3. Recess periods can impact the due date for answering WPQs, this will also have an impact on the average number of working days to respond. |
4. An average length of time to respond is not given for the overall totals. |