Question

To ask the Leader of the House what explanation, if any, she has received from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government as to why six questions for written answer tabled on or before 19 July had not been answered by 6 September; and when she expects those questions to be answered.

As Leader of the House I take very seriously the responsibility incumbent on all Ministers to provide full, timely and comprehensible answers to Questions for Written Answer (QWAs).

In this instance I am informed by the Department that delays to five of these late responses were as a result of administrative errors. I have been advised that these issues have now been identified and resolved. I have been reassured that the Secretary of State takes this seriously and that he has made clear to officials that it is essential it does not happen again. The members concerned were contacted by the Department to apologise for the delay and these questions have now been answered.

With regard to question number HL1066 from Lord Pearson of Rannoch, this remained unanswered by 6 September due to an error with IT systems maintained by the House which meant that it was not allocated to the correct department. The technical issue which was causing problems with transfers and amendments has now been resolved and the question has now been answered.

My office will continue to work with all departments to ensure prompt and satisfactory answers to QWAs.