Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of (a) ordinary and (b) named-day written questions their Department answered on time in 2022.
Answered by Will Quince
For the period of 4 January 2022 to 28 April 2022, the Department answered 48.06% of Named Day Written Questions on the named day, and 74.0% of Ordinary Written Questions within a timeframe of five working days.
For the period of 10 May 2022 to 21 July 2022 inclusive, the Department answered 66.11% of Named Day Written Questions on the named day, and 73.5% of Ordinary Written Questions within a timeframe of five working days.
As the Table Office is still collating the on-time answering statistics for the period commencing 22 July 2022 up to the end of that year, it is not possible at this stage to provide an official figure for the entire of 2022.
The Department receives the most Written Questions amongst all government departments, and we continue to progress our on-time performance through a post-pandemic recovery strategy.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 124 of the Fourth Report of Session 2019-21 from the Women and Equalities Select Committee, HC1050, published on 22 December 2020, if he will bring make an assessment of the potential benefits of making the accessible communication checklist a statutory requirement for government departments.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to PQ 59318.
As outlined in our response to the Fourth Report, the Government Communication Service (GCS) is leading efforts to support departments in enhancing the accessibility of their communications so key messages are available to all audiences.
Asked by: Lilian Greenwood (Labour - Nottingham South)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to paragraph 124 of the Fourth Report of Session 2019-21 of the Women and Equalities Committee entitled Unequal impact: Coronavirus, disability and access to services, published on 22 December 2020, HC 1050, whether his Department is taking steps to implement the recommendation that Government communications be subject to an accessibility checklist.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
I refer the hon. Member to PQ 59318.
As outlined in our response to the Fourth Report, the Government Communication Service (GCS) is leading efforts to support departments in enhancing the accessibility of their communications so key messages are available to all audiences.
This forms part of the Government’s commitment to ensure all communications are in an accessible format.
Asked by: Emily Thornberry (Labour - Islington South and Finsbury)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 19 December to Question 107067 and his Department's 2021 data entitled DWP and CMG: spending over £500, for what reasons her Departments spending on purchases made with a Government Procurement Card below the value of £500 exceeds the value of spending on purchases above £500 by £36,401,197.62.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
I refer the hon. Member to the amended answer given to PQ107067.
Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the latest report of the Independent Reporting Commission, published on 7 December.
Answered by Lord Caine - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lord to the written statement made by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland on 7 December with regard to the fifth report of the Independent Reporting Commission. As noted in that statement, the report highlights progress in a number of areas, including disruptions to paramilitary groups as a result of operations by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, the downward trend in some aspects of paramilitary activity demonstrated by PSNI security statistics, and the reduction in the Northern Ireland-related Terrorism threat level from SEVERE to SUBSTANTIAL.
Yet the report also notes that the problem of paramilitarism is enduring. A number of incidents in recent weeks have demonstrated the callous disregard that paramilitary groups, or those who claim affiliation with them, have for public safety, and the harm and disruption they continue to cause to the communities they often claim to represent.
Paramilitarism was never justified in the past, and cannot be justified today. It needs to end for good. It is clear that a sustained effort is required here over the long term to tackle the enduring problem of paramilitarism. We remain committed to delivering our vision of a safer, more secure Northern Ireland and to working with partners to support efforts against the enduring threat and harms posed to communities by terrorist and paramilitary groups.
Political leadership from across the political spectrum in Northern Ireland is essential to ensure it remains clear there is no place for paramilitarism. The lack of a functioning Executive inhibits Northern Ireland Departments from taking a strategic, cross-cutting approach to tackling paramilitarism in partnership with the PSNI and the wider public sector. It remains the Northern Ireland Office’s top priority to rectify the present situation.
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol West)
Question to the Leader of the House:
To ask the Leader of the House, what work the Parliamentary Capability Team has been doing with government departments to ensure timely and quality responses to Written Parliamentary Questions and correspondence from MPs.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt - Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons
The Parliamentary Capability Team (PCT) provides training on managing parliamentary work to civil servants of all departments and grades. As part of this work, it offers blended learning courses on Written Parliamentary Questions and Ministerial Correspondence, and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants (SCS) on these processes. Since April 2020, this training has been attended by 2,303 civil servants. The PCT also supports departmental parliamentary teams to develop training on department-specific processes for this work.
Over the course of the Summer recess, the former Deputy Leader of the House of Commons also visited multiple government departments with the PCT and spoke about the importance of departments providing full and timely responses to Written Parliamentary Questions and correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence, and officials seek to provide the highest level of service.
All departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, Defra provides tailored training and advice for Defra staff specific to PQs and correspondence to drive up the quality and timeliness of our responses.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
All government departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus. The Attorney General’s Office attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence and remains committed to providing the highest level of service. Between the period of May to July inclusive, the Attorney General’s Office answered 74% of written Parliamentary Questions on time. For the same period, 97% of all Ministerial correspondence was answered on time. |
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
All Government Departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence from Members of Parliament, and officials remain committed to providing the highest level of service. To complement the work of the Parliamentary Capability Team, the MOD offers training sessions to its staff on the importance of Parliamentary Business, including the timeliness and quality of PQs and correspondence.
Between the period of May to July 2022 inclusive, the MOD answered 96% of PQs and 89% of correspondence from Members of Parliament on time.
Asked by: Jessica Morden (Labour - Newport East)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence, and officials remain committed to providing the highest level of service.
All departments have access to regular training on the full suite of Parliamentary business, led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.
The Ministerial Correspondence Team held tailored training sessions for correspondence drafting colleagues to drive up quality and timeliness of responses. These sessions were delivered twice between April and June 2022.