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<p>Following the introduction of the Q&A system, the Department cancelled an annual
subscription to receive a daily feed of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) tabled to the
Department. This has resulted in a saving of just over £6500 per year. In addition,
the Department has made savings associated with the cost of printing hardcopies of
PQs and delivering answers to Parliament each day. The Department worked with the
House authorities in order to ensure that the introduction of the system did not require
any changes or improvements to the Department’s existing ICT systems. DFID Ministers
are committed to ensuring that written PQs receive timely answers, and it is welcome
that the new system ensures that hon and Rt hon Members receive their answers instantly
once uploaded.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>One of the benefits of the new system
is the possibility for the reporting of the timeliness of answers to Parliamentary
Questions to be delivered with greater consistency and accuracy across all answering
bodies. It will be for the Procedure Committee to evaluate the effectiveness of the
new system in improving performance when it assesses the evidence following the end
of the session.</p><p> </p>
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