Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason do the department’s parliamentary team and ministers not respond to written parliamentary questions during parliamentary recesses.

I have spoken to the hon. Gentleman in person previously about the volume of Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs) he tables but given his question I am happy to state on the record that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) welcomes scrutiny by oral and WPQ. The volume of questions the hon. Gentleman tables makes him the largest user of defence WPQs by a considerable margin. We have taken steps to reallocate staff from other defence tasks to respond to his WPQs given the significant volume he tables. As we prepare for warfighting readiness, I welcome scrutiny, and I look forward to answering more of the hon. Gentleman’s questions in due course.

With respect to WPQs over the summer recess, Departments can answer WPQs during recess periods when the first day for answer occurs before the recess period starts. Since 1 September 2026, the MOD received over 1,000 written WPQs from MPs. Answers are sent to the Table Office when finalised, including during recess. Answers are sent to the Member and published on the Parliament website. This is standard practice. WPQs tabled by Members during recess periods are not received by Departments until the first sitting day after recess, therefore they cannot be answered during the recess period.