Committee publication · Correspondence · 4 June 2025

Letter from the Chair to the Secretary of State for DEFRA relating to WPQ performance, dated 3 April 2025

Inquiry: Written Parliamentary Questions: Departmental performance in Session 2024-26

Summary

The Procedure Committee Chair writes to the Secretary of State for DEFRA regarding the department's poor performance in answering written parliamentary questions (WPQs) during July–December 2024. Despite acknowledged improvements and prior commitments to reform, DEFRA remains significantly below the 85% on-time standard, particularly for Named Day questions (56% on-time). The Chair requests the Secretary of State appear before the Committee before Whitsun recess to explain performance and outline remedial measures.

Key findings

DEFRA's Named Day WPQ on-time performance remains critically low at 56% (189/338) in the latest period, up from 25% and 31% in prior periods but still far below the 85% acceptable standard.
Ordinary WPQ performance has improved to 73% (712/971) but remains below target.
The department previously acknowledged that poor performance 'obstructs transparency and scrutiny' and committed to remedial steps in July 2024, but these have proven insufficient.
The Committee will not hesitate to escalate the matter if sustained improvements are not demonstrated, including potential ministerial appearances.
The Chair has formally requested the Secretary of State appear before the Committee before the Whitsun recess to discuss ongoing performance issues and provide assurances.

Tone

Critical

Topics

parliamentary-proceduregovernment-accountabilitytransparency

Key actors

Cat Smith MP, Steve Reed MP, Procedure Committee, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), House of Commons Table Office

Notable line

“Defra's performance during the first part of the 2024– 25 Session indicates that the Department is still performing far below the standard that we and other Members expect.”

Key Quotes

“Defra is still performing significantly below the 85% 'on - time' standard that we and our predecessors consider to be acceptable.”
— Cat Smith MP · assessing department performance against parliamentary expectations

“… was unacceptable, given it obstructs transparency and scrutiny”
— Steve Reed MP (in prior response, cited by Cat Smith) · previous acknowledgment of poor WPQ performance

“We are particularly concerned with the continued poor performance in respect of responses to Named Day questions.”
— Cat Smith MP · identifying the most problematic category of parliamentary questions

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Source · parliament.uk record ↗