Written questions for answer by a specific department can be tabled by any MP. There are two types – ordinary and named day. They are considered a useful way of garnering information about the activities of the government.
Ordinary written questions do not have to be answered on a specified day but MPs normally put them down for answer two days after they are tabled. In practice, answers, which appear in Hansard, are normally received within seven days, but this may be longer and a holding answer may be given.
Named day questions are tabled for answer on a specific day, with a minimum of two days’ notice being normal. So-called ‘planted’ questions, placed by a back-bencher to allow a Minister to make an announcement via a written answer on the same day or the following day, are less common now, as they have been superseded by written ministerial statements.
During the ten year period between 2010 and 2019, the average number of written questions was said to be 3,462 a month according to a paper produced by the House of Commons Library (this includes non-sitting months for recess and elections).
Over the years, some public attention has been directed to the cost of answering written questions. Indeed there is an advisory cost limit known as the disproportionate cost threshold (DCT) which is the
cost level above which Departments can refuse to answer a Parliamentary Question. The DCT for
written answers is currently £750.
According to the House of Commons Information Office back in 2007, the average cost to answer a written question was £140.
