Speaker urges MPs to consider timelines for replies to parliamentary questions

Speaker Anġlu Farrugia on Wednesday urged MPs to consider updating parliamentary rules after noting that they currently do not provide timeframes within which parliamentary questions must be substantively answered.

He made his call after Nationalist MP Eve Borg Bonello said that over a period of six weeks she asked various ministers a total of 86 questions on their spending on advertising, and was always told that a reply would be given at another sitting as the information was still being compiled. 

She asked the ministers to provide details of the total amount of spending on advertising and promotion by their ministry and departments and authorities within it, from 2022 to date. They were also asked to describe the type of promotion (e.g. print media, online media, billboard, influencer, sponsored posts, etc.), the date of publication, promotion, campaign, etc.; and the total expenditure.

In a ruling, the Speaker noted that parliamentary rules require ministers, including the prime minister, to be given at least three days’ notice to answer questions. However standing orders did not specify how or when a reply must be delivered.

He acknowledged that the information requested by Borg Bonello “needs a lot of research” and may take time to compile.

“The issue is, what is a reasonable period?” the Speaker said. He noted that Maltese parliamentary standing orders and UK parliamentary procedure (on which they are modelled) do not provide a clear timeframe.

He referred to a 2024 ruling concerning unanswered parliamentary questions, which cited Canadian parliamentary procedure. Under that system, the government has up to 45 days to respond. If no reply is given, the MP who asked the question may refer the matter to a standing committee or raise it during an adjournment. If the latter route is taken, the committee referral is dropped.

The Speaker urged both sides of the House to engage constructively on the issue. He encouraged members to consider practices used in other parliamentary systems, such as Canada’s, to ensure questions are answered within a reasonable timeframe.

He also reminded MPs to make full use of the mechanisms available to obtain information, while calling on ministers to respond in a responsible and timely manner, in line with their obligations to parliament.