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Foulkes accuses Government over PQ delays |
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Thursday, 07 February 2008 |
Labour MSP George Foulkes today complained that he has endured long delays without explanation for at least 25 questions he has tabled in parliament.
He pointed out that Official answers to PQs are due 20 working days
after the date from which they are lodged and said that he had been
waiting over two months for answers to his questions.
The topic of questions ranged from how many official journeys the
Scottish Executive has made using public transport since May 2007 to
the uptake of overnight stays in hotels, at what cost and how many new
quangos have been created by the Scottish Government since May.
Foulkes also said that the quarterly report issued by the previous
Government providing an overview of the number of PQ, asked and
answered, no longer seems to exist.
Foulkes said: "How can the SNP Government claim to be delivering a more
efficient, effective, open and transparent government when they cannot
or will not tell me the number of quangos they have? It is the role of
parliament in a democracy to provide MSPs with answers.
"What have the SNP got to hide and why are they not being open and
transparent as the previous administration were? To be waiting 8 to 10
weeks for an answer to a series of very simple questions is wrong and
so we are now demanding many more answers to many more questions. I aim
to make them regret their failure."
However a Scottish Government spokesperson refuted his claims.
"The inference that the Government is slow in responding to PQs simply
doesn’t stand up. The fact is that, in the first two audits since
May’s election, the Government’s PQ performance level (89 per cent
answered on time) is higher than that of an administration that had
been in place for the previous eight years – further evidence that
Ministers have indeed 'raised the game' of government."
One person has commented on this article. 1. Quangos
Anonymous, Unregistered Perhaps Mr Foulkes should ask how many quangos were inherited from the previous Labour/Lib Dem administration...
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