Regular readers of this page know that I am forever publishing examples of the Government refusing to answer questions for no good reason. The Prime Minister recently insisted "I've been as open as I can, as transparent as I can" and that he has ended the culture of spin. This is of course satirical beyond description. […]
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office and Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Francis Maude (right) has uncovered some Government hypocrisy through written questions. Back in December 2008, Mr Maude was told that the Security Commission – a Cabinet Office body dedicated to investigating security breaches in Whitehall – had looked into two cases since 1997. […]
I've developed an interest in the Government's inability to get its hands on health data. Guildford MP and Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton has uncovered another case with a written question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions electro-convulsive therapy was administered to a mental health patient (a) in total and […]
Update: Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Greg Clark has issued a press release on this story. Rather like rock stars who take a private jet to play at an event condemning the evils of climate change, Whitehall departments sometimes fail to practice what they preach, as John Redwood has uncovered: "To ask the Secretary […]
There have been a couple of troubling written answers from Health ministers recently. Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton asked about the availability of cognitive behavioural therapy, a crucial element in treating mental ill health: "To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received cognitive behavioural therapy in each of the last five years. […]
Bob Neill, Shadow Minister for London, has posed an intriguing question: "Robert Neill: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether the Equality and Human Rights Commission recognises the Church of Scientology as a religion or faith. [264850] Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission recognises all religions, faiths and beliefs in terms […]
There are a handful of interesting answers in the latest Hansard. Buckingham MP John Bercow reminded the useful idiots that Cuba is not Paradise, but rather a dystopian nightmare: "John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the number of people convicted of the crime […]
Kettering MP Philip Hollobone has received an extraordinary written answer: "To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils dropped out of school before the age of 16 in (a) Northamptonshire and (b) England in the last 12 months. [261672] Jim Knight: Information on pupils dropping out of schools is […]
Shadow Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude has pressed the Prime Minister over the rather fraught issue of Lord Falconer’s pension. In November 2007 the Telegraph reported that Lord Falconer was ready to sue Gordon Brown over the size of his pension. Lord Chancellors have historically had generous arrangements to reflect the fact that […]
Update: Some more examples of Mr Pickles’s written questions have been added, to give a fuller flavour. Eric Pickles, Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary and MP for Brentwood & Ongar, has come top of a league table. He was followed closely by Mark Hoban, MP for Fareham and a Shadow Treasury Minister. In 2007-08 […]
There are a few noteworthy written answers in the most recent copies of Hansard. In the Lords’ answers, crossbencher Lord Laird was informed about prison costs: "Lord Laird asked Her Majesty’s Government: What is the average cost of keeping a person in prison in England for one week in the last year for which figures […]
In the latest copy of Hansard, several more written questions have been inadequately answered. There will be times when the Government really can’t answer a question, or when it would be undiplomatic for it to do so, or when pulling the information together would be excessively costly. But those occasions are comparatively rare. This post […]