Over 1,000 PQs remain unanswered since 2022

Over 1,000 parliamentary questions (PQs) made to government ministers since the start of the legislature remain unanswered, information made available to MaltaToday shows.

Clifton Grima would have failed his exams if he adopted the same habit of not answering questions like he has done since the start of the legislature. The Education Ministry tops the list of unanswered PQs with 182 being left by the wayside.

The Transport and Infrastructure Ministry led by Chris Bonett follows closely with 150 unanswered PQs, and the Health Ministry led by Jo Etienne Abela ranks third with 127.

The data does not indicate what period within this legislature, the questions were made. It is thus pertinent to point out that in some cases, the current minister was not in office for the full three years.

Indeed, Bonett took over the Transport Ministry in a 2024 reshuffle, which also saw Jo Etienne Abela becoming minister after Chris Fearne was nominated by the prime minister as Malta’s prospective European Commissioner. This was before Fearne eventually stepped down from Cabinet after he was charged in court over the Vitals hospital concession.

Hot on the heels of the top three is Social Policy Minister Michael Falzon, who comes in at fourth with 105 unanswered PQs.

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, who saw the lands portfolio added to his ministry last month, has 87 unanswered PQs.

And the competition in Gozo is hot between Gozo Minister Clint Camilleri and Agriculture Minister Anton Refalo. They have 60 and 59 unanswered PQs respectively.

They are followed by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, who are tied with each having 53 unanswered PQs.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli has 46 unanswered PQs, followed by Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri (40), Financen Minister Clyde Caruana (37), Economy Minister Silvio Schembri (35) and Foreign and Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg (27). Borg was handed the tourism portfolio last year after Clayton Bartolo’s resignation.

European Funds Minister Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi has 18 unanswered PQs, although this is a new ministry for him. Housing Minister Roderick Galdes and Inclusion Minister Julia Farrugia appear to be the most efficient in answering PQs, with only 13 and 11 pending questions respectively.

PQs are a key tool used by MPs to seek information from government ministers. These questions, which can be submitted either orally or in writing, allow MPs to scrutinise the actions and decisions of the government, promote transparency, and raise issues of public concern. PQs are often used to obtain data, clarify policies, or highlight matters affecting constituents.

Last year, Speaker of the House Anglu Farrugia, while delivering a ruling called for a “serious debate” on PQ procedure. He reminded ministers that all PQs should be answered as they play a vital role in scrutinising government work.

In a second ruling he had said he has no authority over the content of responses to PQs, being only responsible for the process itself. He noted that no regulation gives the Speaker the authority to intervene in the type of responses ministers give to PQs, including their accuracy.