Memorandum submitted by Rt Hon Jack Straw
MP, Leader of the House (Session 2006-07, P 25)
Might I take this opportunity to develop a point
which was implicit in my remarks but was not explored at great
length, about the direction of increased resources to the answering
of Written Questions?
We discussed at various stages of the evidence
session the impact on departments, and particular units, of very
heavy numbers of questions. Resources within departments have
to be managed very carefully. It is often not easy, given the
high numbers of questions tabled, for departments to respond effectively
to the very high demand placed on them by some Members. But I
hope that answering rates achieved, while by no means perfect,
in response to the increased numbers of questions have shown that
Government does re-direct resources at official level where it
is necessary.
But the position in respect of Ministers' contributions
is more complicated. It is of fundamental importance that—as
I hope I made clear—Ministers consider draft answers and
devote a great deal of attention to them. Indeed, it is a priority
to ensure that Ministers respond to questions within the period
allotted by the House. But as the number of questions continues
to increase, the amount of time Ministers devote to them must
therefore also increase in order to maintain an acceptable quality.
Because Ministers must ensure they consider each answer fully,
there is also an increased risk that answers may be delayed due
to the sheer volume of questions put to them.
I have pleasure in enclosing the information
I said I would pass to you on departments' experiences with coping
with large amounts of questions.
March 2007
Annex
EXAMPLES FROM
DEPARTMENTS ON
THE INCREASE
IN THE
VOLUME OF
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS
"Although our department has seen an increase
in the amount of PQ's that it receives, I do not think this has
put an unnecessary strain on individual policy areas. There was
an occasion recently where an MP tabled 15 or so questions all
on the same issue on the same day. This put pressure on the department
resulting in late draft responses being returned and in turn the
question not being answered by the Minister within the five day
target."
"One of our Stats teams is seriously under
pressure with PQs. They have had 319 in since the start of the
session. The next Division down has 123 PQs. The Director General,
Director and Divisional Managers are all aware and are all rallying
to get things sorted. Only problem is they can't get rid of the
PQs as quick as they receive them eg if we get 50 PQs in on any
given day I can guarantee 30 plus will be for them."
"[Another unit] have been unable to function
normally for over a month due to the large volume of PQs tabled
recently. Other Departmental projects are being put at risk because
of this. It is not a question of shifting people from other areas
onto the PQs as their detailed nature means that only certain
team members with specialist knowledge of the relevant data can
contribute. Our ability to hit deadlines has been seriously reduced."
"Not the increase in volume per se, but
yes to mass tabling of PQs on a given subject.""No parts
of our department report that they are struggling to cope with
volumes of PQs. Questions relating to one policy area in 2006
were almost twice the average of the previous four years."
"Catch-all PQs invite, and will probably
receive, the `disproportionate cost?' answer. Such a `corporate
PQ' arguably should be raised in a Select Committee. Such PQs
result in a lot of work because they involve several internal
units, all of which have to contribute to the final reply. PQs
like this are becoming increasingly common."
"My impression is that PQs per se
do not add greatly to most policy teams' burdens. However, the
sheer volume of questions sometimes makes it difficult to answer
on time. In the 2005-06 session, we had a particular problem with
questions relating to tax credits, which accounted for fully 20%
of all our Commons written questions (1,301 out of 6,437)."
"Since shortly before the 2006 Summer recess,
we have been plagued with questions from Ministers' Conservative
shadows about domestic management issues, many of them trivial
or frivolous (eg flushing lavatories, Private office square footage,
wine cellars, flora and fauna, flag flying, staff magazines, etc).
I thought at first that these questions were intended to identify
waste and extravagance, but I'm coming round to the view that
they are designed simply to cause maximum inconvenience to us."
"Our lead branches manage to provide PQ
answers generally on time, but the Parliamentary Branch which
collates them all and the Ministers who have to sign them off
are struggling to answer PQs on time at the moment."
"There has been a strain on Parliamentary
Section resources in order to cope with an increase in PQs of
over 1,000 in year 2000 to well over 5,000 in year 2006."
| 
