Written questions by Dewhirst.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in her Department.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given to Question 74274 on 26 September 2025.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 78429 on National Security: China, what information her Department holds on whether hostile activity by China is carried out from within the diplomatic buildings in the UK.

Upholding national security and keeping the public safe is the first duty of this Government. This principle underpins not only our relationship with China, but all our international relationships. However, it would not be appropriate to comment on any specific national security issue.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a copy of all due diligence and vetting reports produced for the appointment of Lord Mandelson.

It has been the longstanding policy under successive governments not to publish clearances or national security vetting reports.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if she will publish a list of each guest entertained by Lord Mandelson during his tenure as Ambassador to the United States of America.

UK Ambassadors and High Commissioners host a wide range of guests. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office does not publish details of such meetings.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson will receive severance pay following his withdrawal as Ambassador to the United States of America.

Lord Mandelson's withdrawal is undergoing normal HR processes.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Jonathan Powell was involved in the negotiation of the UK–Mauritius agreement on the Chagos Archipelago as National Security Adviser.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Answer given on 24 February 2025 to Question 30609.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what is the salary of the UK Ambassador to the US; and what the percentage employer contribution to his pension scheme is.

Details of all senior staff salaries are published in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office Organograms of Staff Roles and Salaries (https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/73e0260a-0516-44ff-b4eb-ba9fec420c45/fcdo-organograms). All staff enrolled in the Civil Service pension scheme have an employer pension contribution calculated at 28.97 per cent of salary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 17 July 2025 to Question 66658 on Official Hospitality: Lancaster House, how much was spent on alcohol at the event.

£56 was spent on wine. All other drinks at the event were provided by sponsors.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the National Cyber Security Centre has issued guidance for (a) politicians and (b) the public on using Virtual Private Networks.

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) provides advice and guidance for high risk individuals (https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/defending-democracy/guidance-for-high-risk-individuals). NCSC also works closely with the Parliamentary Authorities on their advice and support to Members of both Houses of Parliament.Personal Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are not primarily used for cyber security purposes, and their use can introduce security risks to a user, not just mitigate them. As such NCSC neither recommend nor discourage the use of VPNs by private individuals.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether senior members of the Diplomatic Service are permitted to attend the Labour Party political conference.

All senior civil servants, including members of the Diplomatic Service, are subject to the Civil Service Management Code.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to paragraph 2 of the document entitled DSR 2: General Principles of Conduct of the Diplomatic Service Code, if he will publish a copy of any supplementary guidance on political activities in addition to the guidance in DSR 36.

No such supplementary guidance has been published, nor is any considered necessary.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with regional allies on tackling Iran's alleged (a) involvement in training Polisario militias and (b) strategy to destabilise the region.

The UK has not seen requisite evidence to raise concerns with allies regarding the allegation of Iranian involvement in training of Polisario Front. However, we continue to monitor Iranian activity in the region. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office regards the Polisario Front as a pro-independence movement and party to a UN-mediated dispute. The UK continues to support UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information his Department holds on whether (a) the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and (b) Hezbollah have provided military training and drone technology to the Polisario Front; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of this alleged collaboration on UK interests in (i) north and (ii) west Africa.

We do not have information to confirm the allegation of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or Hezbollah provision of military training and drone technology to the Polisario Front. We continue to support UN-led efforts to reach a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise, which will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara.The UK has long condemned the destabilising activity of the IRGC and its regional partners and proxies, including Lebanese Hezbollah. We will continue to work with partners to tackle Iran's destabilising activity.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the policies of the Moroccan government on providing aid for (a) security and (b) development to help tackle fragility in the wider Sahel region.

The UK and Morocco share concern about the security and development issues faced by Sahelian countries. In the Sahel, the UK provided £177 million in bilateral Official Developmental Assistance in the financial year ending in 2025, including £46 million on health, £83 million on humanitarian, and £12 million on promoting stability and conflict prevention. UK embassies and aid programmes in Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania and aid programmes in Burkina Faso promote UK interests and seek to address the root causes of recurrent crises in the Sahel, working with international partners including Morocco. The UK's continued engagement and humanitarian aid helps reduce instability in the Sahel and impact on neighbouring states including Morocco and manage threats to our national security.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Secret Intelligence Service is a paid member of Stonewall.

The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) is a paid member of Stonewall.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2024 to Question 7002 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Official Cars, how many journeys in cars provided by the London Car Service every day were undertaken by Ministers in his Department in the latest month for which data is available, broken down by week; and what proportion of those journeys were by electric car.

For security reasons specific details of usage patterns and allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answers of 16 October 2024 to Questions 7002 and 7003 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Official Cars, if he publish a list of senior officials with access to a government car; and whether those officials had access to a government car before the general election.

For security reasons specific details of usage patterns and allocations including make and model of vehicles are not issued.The arrangements relating to the usage of vehicles are set out in the Civil Service Management Code.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) his officials have held with external stakeholders since 5 July 2024.

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) publishes details of Ministers' meetings with external organisations, gifts (given and received), hospitality and overseas travel every 3 months.The FCDO also publishes details of the Permanent under Secretaries, Directors General, and Finance and Commercial Directors external meetings every 3 months.This data is available on Gov.uk.Information for the period from 5 July 2024 will be published in due course.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2024 to Questions 2306 and 2308 on Ministers: Official Cars, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have (i) been allocated a dedicated vehicle and (ii) access to use of a shared vehicle from the Government Car Service; what the (A) make, (B) model and (C) fuel type of each car is; and what the budget for those cars was in the 2024-25 financial year.

There are no cars currently dedicated for specific Ministers, or other officials in the FCDO. The FCDO does not use the Government Car Service.The FCDO Car Service is provided by London Car Service (LCS) which is managed by FCDO Services. Given the number of FCDO ministers, and the complexity of FCDO ministerial travel requirements, the FCDO operates a service based on available internal capacity within the allotted LCS provision, which is supplemented by private sector provision to meet demand peaks in a cost-effective manner.For security reasons specific details of the make and model of vehicles are not issued.The FCDO Car Service is variable based on demand, and monitored throughout the year. The spend in FY23/24 was £224,221.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what his Department's policy is on the allocation of Government Car Service cars to senior officials; what the policy was on 24 May 2024; and which senior officials have been granted access to the service since 4 July 2024.

The FCDO does not use the Government Car Service. The FCDO Car Service is provided by London Car Service (LCS) which is managed by FCDO Services. Given the number of FCDO ministers, and the complexity of FCDO ministerial travel requirements, the FCDO operates an on-demand service based on available internal capacity within the allotted LCS provision, which is supplemented by private sector provision to meet demand peaks in a cost-effective manner.The arrangements relating to the use of the FCDO Car Service is set out in the Civil Service Management Code. There has been no change in this policy since the general election.