Member's statement: Questions for Written Answer: Response Times
Member's statement by Mr Timothy Gaston on .
- MLA
- Mr Timothy Gaston
- Party at the time
- Traditional Unionist Voice
- Date
- 18 February 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Questions for Written Answer: Response Times
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4806140
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I will focus today on the lack of transparency in the House and on the failure of Ministers to adhere to their responsibilities under Standing Orders to respond to questions for written answer. Standing Orders are very clear. Standing Order 20C(4) states:
"The Minister or member representing the Assembly Commission to whom a question is addressed shall answer it — (a) by the end of ten working days after it is published; or (b) in the case of a question for priority answer, by the end of two, three, four or five working days (as the case may be) after it is published."
I regret that, across several Departments, that rule is being disregarded on an ongoing basis. I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for intervening and requiring Ministers to issue revised answers to questions that I have submitted. Those questions deal with the time lag between draft written answers being provided by officials and the written answer being provided to MLAs by the Minister. It is with the latter that the problem exists. Although it is far from being the only offender, the Executive Office is particularly bad. As I highlighted during Question Time yesterday, a question that I tabled in September 2024 about travel to Washington for St Patrick's Day 2024 remains unanswered, less than a month from St Patrick's Day 2025. That is simply not good enough. Standing Orders need to apply to all, including members of the Executive.
243 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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