Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 May 2025
Letter from the Chair to the Attorney General relating to WPQ performance, dated 3 April 2025
From: Procedure Committee
Inquiry: Written Parliamentary Questions: Departmental performance in Session 2024-26
Summary
The Procedure Committee Chair writes to the Attorney General about the Attorney General's Office (AGO) failing to meet the 85% on-time performance standard for answering written parliamentary questions. Performance declined to 72% for ordinary questions in the first part of Session 2024–25 (July–December 2024), after improvements in 2023–24. The Chair requests an explanation by 2 May 2025 and warns of potential future scrutiny.
Key findings
- AGO ordinary WPQ answering performance fell from 94% (Nov 2023–Feb 2024) and 100% (Feb–May 2024) to 72% in July–December 2024, well below the 85% acceptable standard
- Named Day WPQ performance also declined: 71% (Nov 2023–Feb 2024), 93% (Feb–May 2024), to 80% (July–Dec 2024)
- Previous assurances from the then Attorney General in October 2023 that staff turnover and process issues had been resolved have not been sustained
- The Committee recognises volume of questions affects performance metrics but expects the AGO to manage the workload effectively
- The Chair requests written explanation from the Attorney General by 2 May 2025; ongoing poor performance may trigger ministerial appearance before the Committee
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Cat Smith MP, Lord Hermer KC, Attorney General's Office, Procedure Committee, Lucy Rigby KC MP, Solicitor General
Notable line
“Having performed strongly during the 2023 – 24 Session, it is concerning to now see a further steep decline in performance.”
Key Quotes
“… the standard considered acceptable by us and by our predecessors is for 85% of questions to be responded to on time”
“Having recently reviewed answering performance for the first part of this Session, we were concerned to see a considerable reduction in the A GO's performance.”
“… should these issues persist, we will expect that either yourself or a Ministerial colleague appear before us to discuss this further”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗