Committee publication · Correspondence · 7 May 2025
Reply from the Attorney General relating to Written Parliamentary Questions, dated 23 April 2025
From: Procedure Committee
Inquiry: Written Parliamentary Questions: Departmental performance in Session 2024-26
Summary
The Attorney General's Office replies to the Procedure Committee's concerns about delays in answering written parliamentary questions. It acknowledges deteriorated performance in the previous session, attributes this to high question volumes, and reports improvement to 93% on-time responses for ordinary questions and 85% for named-day questions in December 2024–April 2025. The office commits to earlier internal deadlines and refreshed staff training.
Key findings
- AGO performance on written parliamentary questions declined in the previous session; deterioration attributed partly to high volumes of cross-government questions due October 2024.
- In the period 7 December 2024 to 3 April 2025, AGO responded to 53 of 57 ordinary WPQs on time (93%) and 11 of 13 named-day WPQs on time (85%).
- AGO has implemented two remedial measures: advancing internal deadlines and delivering updated training emphasising timely responses across the department and Law Officers' Departments.
- Attorney General and Solicitor General confirm 'continued personal attention' to the matter and commit to maintaining the improved performance level going forward.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Lord Hermer KC (Attorney General), Lucy Rigby KC MP (Solicitor General), Cat Smith MP (Chair, House of Commons Procedure Committee), Attorney General's Office, Leader of the House
Notable line
“We recognise the role WPQs play in enabling Parliament to hold the Government to account, and timeliness of responses is clearly important to achieving this.”
Key Quotes
“Whilst a range of factors contributed to this, including a high volume of WPQs requiring cross-government answers due in October 2024, we of course nevertheless appreciate that a high level of performance must be maintained at all times.”
“In this subsequent period, our department responded to 53 out of 57 ordinary WPQs on time (93%) and 11 out of 13 named day WPQs on time”
“We are, as I know you would expect, determined to maintain this level of performance going forward.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗