Department for Education: Written Questions
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of (a) named day questions and (b) ordinary written questions were responded to by her Department within the required timescale in (i) May 2025, (ii) June 2025, (iii) July 2025, (iv) August 2025, (v) September 2025, (vi) October 2025 and (vii) November 2025.
Answered by Olivia Bailey
The department attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of questions from Members of Parliament. Between April and December 2025, the department has received 100% more written parliamentary questions (WPQs) versus the same period last year.
The below table provides the proportion of (a) named day and (b) ordinary written parliamentary questions answered with the required timescales for the months requested.
| Named Day questions answered on time (%) | Ordinary questions answered on time (%) |
May-25 | 35.6 | 67.3 |
Jun-25 | 56.9 | 77.0 |
Jul-25 | 48.5 | 70.9 |
Aug-25 | - | - |
Sep-25 | 45.1 | 42.9 |
Oct-25 | 38.8 | 52.1 |
Nov-25 | 47.6 | 58.0 |
Notes on the data:
- Data based on the date a WPQ was due for answer.
- Named Day WPQs are due for answer on a specified date. Ordinary WPQs should be answered within five working days of the question being tabled.
The House of Commons Procedure Committee monitors departmental PQ performance and publishes a report of the government’s consolidated PQ data following the end of each session.
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