Transport ministry tops the list of unanswered parliamentary questions
Ministries failed to answer 1,238 questions filed by MPs over the 14th legislature
Over 1,200 parliamentary questions went unanswered between 2022 and 2026, according to information tabled in parliament.
Throughout the 14th legislature, over 36,000 questions were filed by MPs over the four years.
Around 460 questions never made it ot the agenda because parliament was dissolved early to make way for the general election.
However, 1,238 questions were simply never given an answer by the entity questioned.
The transport ministry had the highest amount of unanswered questions during the legislature at 174 questions.
This was followed by the foreign affairs and health ministries, at 126 and 124 unanswered questions.
In March, then-Speaker Anġlu Farrugia urged MPs to consider updating parliamentary rules to include timeframes within which parliamentary questions must be substantively answered.
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.
The information was tabled by the Speaker of the House upon the request of PN MP Michael Piccinino.