Committees

Written Parliamentary Questions

Inquiry

Written Parliamentary Questions (WPQs) are an important tool for Members of Parliament to obtain detailed and targeted information to aid in the scrutiny of Government policy and operations. The long-established purpose of WPQs is to uphold transparency and accountability by ensuring that the Government provides clear and timely information to Parliament, and to the public via their publication.

Recent concerns have been raised that the present WPQ system has been coming under strain and not fully delivering on its intended purpose. This inquiry provides the opportunity to undertake a detailed review of WPQs, to look at their purpose, their use, and the processes that underpin them, in order to identify potential recommendations for improvement and reform.

This inquiry is no longer accepting evidence

The deadline for submissions was 5:00pm on 16 January 2026.

Upcoming events

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Past events

Wednesday 24 June 2026
10:00am Private
10:15am Public
Written Parliamentary Questions - Oral evidence 24 June 2026
10:15am
  • Rt Hon Sir Alan Campbell MP (Leader at House of Commons)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 10 June 2026
2:30pm Private
2:45pm Public
Written Parliamentary Questions - Oral evidence 10 June 2026
2:45pm
  • Dr Farrah Bhatti (Principal Clerk of the Table Office at House of Commons)
  • Nick Beech (Acting Deputy Head of the Table Office at House of Commons)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 3 June 2026
2:30pm Private
3:00pm Public
Written Parliamentary Questions - Oral evidence 3 June 2026
3:00pm
  • Ben Obese-Jecty MP
3:15pm
  • Charlie Dewhirst MP
3:30pm
  • Edward Morello MP
3:45pm
  • Tessa Munt MP
4:00pm
  • Martin Wrigley MP
4:15pm
  • Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Wednesday 20 May 2026
2:30pm Private
2:45pm Public
Written Parliamentary Questions - Oral evidence 20 May 2026
2:45pm
  • Dr Ben Worthy, Reader in Politics and Public Policy at Birkbeck College, University of London
  • Jenna Corderoy, Investigative Reporter at Democracy for Sale UK
  • Alex Parsons, Democracy Lead and Senior Researcher at mySociety
3:30pm
  • Warren Seddon, Director of FOI and Transparency at Information Commissioner’s Office
4:00pm
  • Clare Brunton (Acting Director, Constitution, Honours and Memorialisation, Information and Major Events at Cabinet Office)
  • Eirian Walsh Atkins (Deputy Director, Freedom of Information at Cabinet Office)
Room 8, Palace of Westminster

Contact us

  • Email: proccom@parliament.uk
  • Phone: General enquiries: 020 7219 3351 | Media enquiries: 020 7219 0969 / CommonsPressOffice@parliament.uk
  • Address: Procedure Committee, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA