Question

To ask the Leader of the House, further to the statistics in House of Lords Business on Thursday 16 December which show that the Department of Health and Social Care had 56 written parliamentary questions that had not been answered in 10 working days, more than any other department, what discussions she has had with the department about improving their responsiveness to parliamentary scrutiny through Questions for Written Answer.

As Leader of the House I take very seriously the responsibility incumbent on all Ministers and departments to provide full, timely and comprehensive answers to Questions for Written Answers. The Department for Health and Social Care received 1206 QWAs in 2021 compared to 599 in 2019, and have doubled the size of the relevant team to deal with the increased work and pressure.

My office approach departments who have not responded to questions after 10 working days, and remain in contact with them until the questions are answered. This process has been followed with the Department of Health and Social Care, and my office will continue to work with the department during this busy period to ensure prompt responses to all Questions for Written Answers.