§ Ms LawrenceTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will raise the advisory cost limit of £450 for answering written parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement. [10265]
§ Mrs. LiddellThe advisory cost limit was last increased in 1993—Official Report, 18 February 1993, column 307—and is to be further increased to £500 from today.
The purpose and application of the advisory cost limit remain unchanged. It is intended to act as a threshold for disproportionate cost parliamentary questions. Any written PQ where the marginal cost of preparing the answer is considered likely to exceed the threshold may be refused in whole or in part on the ground of disproportionate cost. Alternatively, the Minister may decide that the PQ is to be answered irrespective of cost. There is no advisory limit for oral PQs.
The advisory limit continues to be based on eight times the average marginal cost for written PQs, which is now £62, rounded to the nearest £50 for convenience of application.