Dominic Raab and Priti Patel angered MPs by canceling their appearances on select committees just before Parliament’s summer recess.
Home Minister Ms Patel was due to appear before the Home Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning but canceled her appearance the night before.
Justice Minister Mr Raab was due to attend the Joint Committee on Human Rights next week, but also postponed it.
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Committee chairs have written to ministers urging them to stick to their commitments, but Ms Patel has already replied, saying she will not meet them until September.
By then there will be a new Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister, so it is not certain that they will still be in their roles.
It comes after the government confirmed it was delaying a major piece of legislation, the Online Safety Bill, until after the summer break, claiming it had “time constraints” and “competing demands” ahead of the break.
Ms Patel’s appearance was due to take place at 10am on Wednesday, but the commission says it was informed just before 5pm on Tuesday that she would not be coming.
Writing to the Speaker, the Home Secretary said that “scrutiny by your committee is always a priority for the department and for me” but that “recent changes in government and in particular the ministerial team in my department” meant she could not to move forward, offering a September date instead.
Committee chair Diana Johnson said it was “extremely disappointing” and responded to the letter by saying: “We understand that despite the resignation of the Prime Minister last week, we still have a working government.
“It is essential that our committee is able to scrutinize the policies and actions of this government, and in these uncertain times even more so.”
But although the committee “expects” Ms Patel to appear next week, another letter prompted the home secretary to stick to her guns and repeat her calls for a meeting in September.
A Home Office spokesman said the meeting had not been canceled but postponed, adding: “The Home Secretary will appear at a later date to be agreed with the committee.”
“Extremely disappointed”
Mr Raab, who is also deputy prime minister, was not due to appear before the Joint Commission on Human Rights until next Wednesday to discuss his new bill of rights, but has already withdrawn.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said he would attend a session after the summer break, adding: “The introduction of the Bill of Rights followed extensive consultation and it will be debated and considered in Parliament in the usual way.”
But one of the committee chairs, the SNP’s Joanna Cherry, wrote to Mr Raab saying she was “extremely disappointed”.
She added: “While we understand there are pressures that come with detention [two jobs] accountability to parliament must take priority.”
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