QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

HL Deb 14 February 1978 vol 388 c1407WA

Lord ORR-EWING

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What instructions have been issued concerning the number of days within which Questions for Written Answer should be answered in the House of Lords, and how performance matches the target.

Lord PEART

No written instructions are issued to Departments but the Government usually reply to Questions for Written Answer within the two-week interval recommended on page 72 of theCompanion to Standing Orders.

In the period from the beginning of the Session to 30th January, 234 Questions were asked; 29 were not answered in the two-week period; 21 of these were answered on the 15th day, and 5 more on the 16th day after they were put down. Longer delays (7 and 13 days) occurred in only 2 cases; that is, less than 2 per cent. of the total.

Of the 29 Questions not answered within the interval, 17 were put down by one Peer on a single day; 12 of these were answered on the 15th day, the remainder on the 16th day, after they were asked.