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<p>Parliament has a right to hold Ministers to account and, as Leader of the House,
I expect Government Ministers to respond quickly and effectively to written parliamentary
questions. I will continue to drive that message and I encourage members who get an
unsatisfactory response to write to me and I will take this up for any Member who
does not get a proper response.</p><p>The Procedure Committee has a strong track
record of calling Ministers in to look at departmental performance where there are
issues and their regular reporting of performance continues to be an effective tool.
I note the Procedure Committee's report from earlier in this session on written parliamentary
questions during the 2021-22 session and I was pleased to read that the number of
answers provided on time has improved from the 2019-21 session. I hope we will see
this improvement continue in the current session. However, there remains room for
improvement and I hope departments and Ministers will consider how best to ensure
resources are adequately deployed to improve performance.</p><p>I recognise that my
office and I have a role to play in making representations to Government on behalf
of the House of Commons, and have taken a number actions in recent months:</p><ul><li>Over
the 2022 Summer recess my office conducted a series of discussions across Whitehall
regarding the importance of timely and quality responses to Members.</li><li>In line
with the practice of my predecessors, I have written to all members of Cabinet.</li><li>I
participated in a ‘Leading in Parliament’ session with Senior Civil Servants.</li><li>I
met with the Home Office Permanent Secretary following a number of concerns raised
during Business Questions, and I have been pleased to note an improvement in performance
in that department’s performance statistics. Changes include regular briefings on
PQ performance to Director Generals; a further training offer to civil servants to
improve performance and quality of responses; and investment in software to help manage
PQ allocation and clearance processes.</li><li>In November 2022 my office published
an updated Guide to Parliamentary Work which is available on Gov.uk and includes guidance
for civil servants on answering written parliamentary questions, reflecting concerns
raised by the Procedure Committee (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).</li><li>My
office oversees the Parliamentary Clerks’ Working Group, which brings together all
departmental Parliamentary Clerks from across Whitehall to discuss topical issues
and share best practice. During its last meeting in December 2022, my office expressed
my concerns and reiterated the need for improvements in the timeliness of responses
to parliamentary questions to be maintained.</li><li>The Parliamentary Capability
Team in the Cabinet Office also provides training on managing parliamentary work to
civil servants of all departments and grades, including blended learning courses on
Written Parliamentary Questions and tailored workshops for Senior Civil Servants.
Since April 2022, 896 civil servants from across government have attended training
provided by the Parliamentary Capability Team on managing Written Parliamentary Questions.</li><li>I
will be meeting with all departmental Permanent Secretaries in the coming weeks where
I will reiterate the importance of substantive and timely answers to written parliamentary
questions.</li></ul>
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