Deputies’ written questions almost double in last two years

The article highlights a significant surge in Rule 14 written questions directed at government committees, driven largely by a small group of prolific deputies. This increase places substantial pressure on administrative resources, as the complexity of inquiries has grown, requiring detailed investigation and cross-departmental coordination. While most responses meet formal deadlines, the underlying workload is intensifying, potentially straining the capacity of public officers to provide thorough and timely replies. However, the most critical finding is the near-total absence of central monitoring for this process. There is no unified system to log questions, track officer time, or record costs across the government. Instead, each committee handles inquiries as standard incoming correspondence without an agreed electronic format for data recording. This lack of centralized data means the government cannot effectively measure the true administrative burden, assess compliance accurately, or identify inefficiencies in how public resources are utilized for these interactions. This scenario is highly relevant to open data advocates because it exemplifies a failure in governmental transparency and data infrastructure. Without structured, aggregated data on parliamentary questions, the public and researchers cannot hold the administration accountable for resource allocation or response quality. The inconsistent publication of cost and time metrics further obscures the financial impact on taxpayers, underscoring the urgent need for standardized, machine-readable data systems to ensure true openness and operational efficiency in public sector communications.

Source: guernseypress.com
Published on 2026-10-15

Deputies’ written questions almost double in last two years

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