Weighing up if MLAs really do need their 5-a-day should be start of civil service reform

If I say five-a-day, you probably think of the number of portions of fruit and vegetables that health experts say we are supposed to eat every day for the sake of our health. However, for MLAs at Stormont, five-a-day has another meaning. It is the number of written questions an MLA can ask to ministers every day. So with five working days a week and five questions a day, you can ask 25 written questions a week. Departments then have 10 working days to answer them.