Written Question

Leader of the House of Commons: Written Questions

Thursday 7th September 2023

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what data their Department holds on the average response time to written parliamentary questions in the last six months; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House, I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to written parliamentary questions. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

Data on response times to written parliamentary questions is held by the House, not government, and the ​Procedure ​Committee has a strong track record of calling Ministers in to look at​ departmental​ performance where there are issues​. Their regular reporting of performance continues to be an effective tool​. ​I note the Procedure Committee's report from earlier in this session on written parliamentary questions during the 2021-22 session​ and ​I was pleased to read that the number of answers provided on time has improved from the 2019-21 session. ​I hope we will see this improvement continue when the Committee publishes its next report following the current session. ​

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf of the House of Commons, and have taken a number actions:

• In line with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.
• I met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries where I reiterated the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary questions.
• I participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• I met with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised during Business Questions.
• In November 2022 my office published an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk and includes guidance for civil servants on answering written parliamentary questions (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on Written Parliamentary Questions and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants. Since April 2022, 1012 civil servants from across government have attended training provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Written Parliamentary Questions.

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Select Committee

Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office

Oral Evidence Apr. 29 2024

Inquiry: Statutory Inquiries
Inquiry Status: Closed
Committee: Statutory Inquiries Committee

Found: Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office Oral Evidence

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Select Committee

Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office

Oral Evidence Mar. 19 2024

Inquiry: Scrutiny of Strategic Thinking in Government
Inquiry Status: Closed
Committee: Liaison Sub-Committee on Scrutiny of Strategic Thinking in Government

Found: Cabinet Office, and Cabinet Office Oral Evidence

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Select Committee

Youth Negotiators Academy, and Sophie Howe

Oral Evidence Mar. 19 2024

Inquiry: Scrutiny of Strategic Thinking in Government
Inquiry Status: Closed
Committee: Liaison Sub-Committee on Scrutiny of Strategic Thinking in Government

Found: II: The Rt Hon John Glen MP, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Simon Case CVO, Cabinet Secretary

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Written Question

Government Departments: Correspondence

Thursday 7th September 2023

Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)

Question to the Leader of the House:

To ask the Leader of the House, what steps she is taking to help ensure that Members' requests for assistance on ministerial correspondence are addressed in a timely manner.

Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons

Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House, I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to Members’ correspondence. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who does not get a proper response.

I recognise that my office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf of the House of Commons, and have taken a number of actions:

• I write to Cabinet colleagues every week following Business Questions to take up the concerns raised by Members, including in relation to delayed responses to correspondence.
• I have met with all departmental Permanent Secretaries where I reiterated the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary questions.
• I met separately with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised during Business Questions.
• I participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.
• In line with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.
• My office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues and share best practice.

The Parliamentary Capability Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on ministerial correspondence and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants. Since April 2022, 1,160 civil servants from across government have attended training provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Ministerial Correspondence and Written Parliamentary Questions.

As per the Cabinet Office’s Guide to Handling Correspondence (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/handling-government-correspondence-guidance), departments and agencies should aim to respond to correspondence within a 20-working day target deadline. The Cabinet Office published data on this for 2022 for all government departments on GOV.UK in March 2023, and will be publishing data for Q1 and Q2 2023 shortly. The 2022 data can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/data-on-responses-to-correspondence-from-mps-and-peers-2022.

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Departmental Publication (Transparency)
Cabinet Office

Mar. 18 2024

Source Page: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statements
Document: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statement 2020 (Web version) (PDF)

Found: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statements

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Departmental Publication (Transparency)
Cabinet Office

Mar. 18 2024

Source Page: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statements
Document: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statement 2020 (PDF) (PDF)

Found: Cabinet Office Accounting Officer System Statements

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Select Committee

The Welsh Government, and The Welsh Government

Oral Evidence May. 22 2024

Inquiry: The Governance of the Union: Consultation, Co-operation and Legislative Consent
Inquiry Status: Closed
Committee: Constitution Committee

Found: Evidence Session No. 6 Heard in Public Questions 96 - 121 Witnesses I: Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary

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