Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data their Department holds on the average response time to written parliamentary questions in the last six months; and what assessment they have made of the adequacy of that response time.

The Department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from Members of Parliament, including written parliamentary questions (WPQs). The Department runs tailored training sessions for Departmental colleagues specific to WPQs to improve the quality and timeliness of responses.

All Departments also have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus.

The below table provides the percentage of WPQs answered on time, and the average number of working days to respond, which were received from Members of the House of Commons and due for answer between 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.

Footnotes:

1. Data is based on the number of ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs received and answered by the Department for Education between the 1 March 2023 and 31 August 2023.
2. MPs may table questions specifying the date on which they should receive an answer (a ‘Named Day’ WPQ). MPs must give a minimum of two days notice. However, they may also pick a date further in the future. This can impact the average number of days to respond. ‘Named Day’ WPQs and ‘Ordinary ‘WPQs’ often have different response deadlines.
3. Recess periods can impact the due date for answering WPQs, this will also have an impact on the average number of working days to respond. During this period, the House rose for Easter recess, May Day recess, Coronation recess, Whitsun recess and the Summer recess.
4. The average length of time given to respond to WPQs covers both ‘Named Day’ and ‘Ordinary’ WPQs combined, including the working date the WPQs were received.