How Assembly Questions Work
One of the simplest and most-used scrutiny tools an MLA has is the Assembly question: a formal question to a minister that must be answered on the public record. Questions force information into the open — spending figures, waiting lists, project timetables — and put ministers on the spot in the Chamber. This guide explains the different types of question and how to follow them.
Question Time: oral questions in the Chamber
Questions for oral answer (AQOs) are answered by ministers in person during Question Time, held on plenary sitting days (normally Mondays and Tuesdays). Ministers appear on a rota, so each minister — and the First Minister and deputy First Minister jointly — faces the Chamber roughly every few weeks.
MLAs table their questions in advance and a ballot decides the order. The MLA asks the question, the minister answers, and the questioner can follow up — often the follow-up is the real question, since ministers see the original in advance but not the supplementary. Other MLAs can then be called to ask supplementaries on the same topic.
Part of each session is set aside for topical questions, which are tabled only days beforehand, letting MLAs raise whatever is currently in the news about that department.
Written questions: the paper trail
Questions for written answer (AQWs) are the workhorse of Assembly scrutiny — thousands are tabled each year. Any MLA can put down written questions to any minister, and the answers are published on the Assembly’s website.
Ministers are expected to answer within ten working days. An MLA can mark a question as a priority written question for a faster response when the matter is urgent. If an answer is late, that fact itself is recorded and can be pursued.
Written questions are a rich public record: they are often where detailed statistics, departmental spending and policy positions first surface, and they are frequently the source for news reporting on Stormont.
Urgent questions and ministerial statements
When something significant happens between scheduled Question Times, an MLA can seek a question for urgent oral answer — if the Speaker agrees the matter is genuinely urgent, the minister must come to the Chamber to respond that sitting week. Separately, ministers themselves make ministerial statements to announce major decisions, after which MLAs may ask questions on the statement.
Why questions matter — and how to follow them
Questions are one of the fairest ways to compare MLAs’ activity: every question and answer is published, searchable and attributable. All questions and answers appear on the Assembly’s Questions database (AIMS) and oral exchanges are transcribed in the Official Report (Hansard).
If an issue matters to you, your own MLAs can table questions about it — contact details for all five of your constituency’s representatives are on their profile pages.
Sources: Northern Ireland Assembly Standing Orders (Questions); aims.niassembly.gov.uk. Last reviewed: July 2026.