Dimension: 1.7.5 Questions

This dimension concerns the authority of MPs to submit oral and written questions to the prime minister, ministers and other representatives of the executive, and to receive answers to those questions.

Oral questions allow MPs to publicly address representatives of the executive with regard to politically acute topics. Dedicated sessions for oral questions, known as “question time”, “prime minister’s hour” or “ministers’ hour”, regularly take place in many parliaments. During these sessions, MPs should also be allowed to ask supplementary questions where the initial response is incomplete or in order to seek clarification.

The Speaker Speaker The highest authority and principal presiding officer of the parliament, or of the house or chamber in bicameral parliaments. The Speaker is usually an MP elected at the beginning of each convocation by fellow MPs to preside over the parliamentary chamber or, in a unicameral system, to preside over the parliament. plays a significant role during oral questions, by maintaining the balance among political parties, managing the floor and setting a constructive tone of debate. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s rules of procedure should provide the Speaker Speaker The highest authority and principal presiding officer of the parliament, or of the house or chamber in bicameral parliaments. The Speaker is usually an MP elected at the beginning of each convocation by fellow MPs to preside over the parliamentary chamber or, in a unicameral system, to preside over the parliament. with the necessary powers to exercise this responsibility.

Written questions, meanwhile, are a useful tool for gathering detailed information that may not otherwise be available. Parliament Parliament A national body of elected (or sometimes appointed) representatives that makes laws, debates issues and holds the government to account. ’s rules of procedure should provide guidance on submitting written questions, as well as deadlines for providing answers and possible sanctions for breaching the obligation to respond.

The meaning of the term “written question” varies across countries. It usually refers to questions submitted in writing that require written answers, though some parliaments allow the authors of written questions to request either written or oral answers. MPs can also ask the executive to provide oral answers to written questions that remain unanswered. In some cases, unanswered questions become the subject of interpellations

See also Dimension 1.4.2: Speaker Speaker The highest authority and principal presiding officer of the parliament, or of the house or chamber in bicameral parliaments. The Speaker is usually an MP elected at the beginning of each convocation by fellow MPs to preside over the parliamentary chamber or, in a unicameral system, to preside over the parliament. and Dimension 1.7.4: Summoning the executive in plenary.