'Serious' debate needed on Parliamentary Question procedure, Speaker says

Speaker of the House of Representatives Anglu Farrugia has called for a “serious debate” on the procedures governing Parliamentary Questions.

In a ruling on Monday, the Speaker stated that several previous rulings had concluded that Parliamentary Questions (PQs) play a vital role in scrutiny, and reminded ministers of the importance of responding to them within a reasonable timeframe.

The Speaker stated that, as this aspect of parliamentary procedure is not addressed within Maltese parliamentary regulations, reference had to be made to the practices of the UK House of Commons, as adopted in the Commonwealth.

The Speaker highlighted a specific case in Canada, where a regulation was introduced stipulating that if a Parliamentary Question is not answered within 25 calendar days, it is automatically referred to a Standing Committee chosen by the MP who posed the question.

The Speaker added that while he is bound by current practices, including those regarding the answering of Parliamentary Questions, the Canadian example demonstrates that this issue is not unique to Malta.

He also suggested that procedures could be introduced to address these shortcomings, recommending that the matter be seriously discussed by both the Nationalist Party and Labour Party.

The ruling was requested by PN MP Alex Borg after Foreign Affairs Minister Ian Borg failed to respond to a question in which Borg sought a list of all individuals who had been issued a Maltese diplomatic passport over the past decade.

Borg asked the question four times without receiving a response and implied that the lack of an answer might be due to “a name that shouldn’t have been there.”

No say on quality of responses

In a second ruling, the Speaker referred to several previous rulings, reiterating that he has no authority over the content of responses to PQs, being only responsible for the process of the PQ itself.

He noted that there is no regulation granting the Speaker the power to intervene in the responses provided to PQS, including their accuracy.

Referring to procedures in the House of Commons, the Speaker emphasised that his duty is to adhere to Parliament's Standing Orders, with responsibility for the answers.

The ruling followed a request from PN MP David Agius, who had asked Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri for the Police Commissioner’s new contract but only received a document outlining his appointment. The MP argued that this was not the contract he had requested.