Written questions by Lam.

From which countries his Department has sourced (a) pulp and (b) finished paper for (i) official stationery and (ii) other printed materials.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards, including for Paper & paper products. Furthermore, the Government has also implemented a Timber Procurement Policy to ensure that only timber and wood-derived products (including paper) originating from an independently verifiable Legal and Sustainable source will be used on the Government estate.

What steps his Department is taking to encourage the procurement of British-made office products and stationery by (a) his Department and (b) its arms-length bodies.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. The Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards (GBS). e.g. Furniture, Office ICT, and Paper & paper products

What proportion of his Department's (a) ICT (b) stationery and (c) office furniture suppliers are (i) supplied by UK businesses and (ii) manufactured in the UK.

The Government is committed to supporting British businesses and the products they produce, ensuring they have the best opportunities to win UK public contracts and deliver high-quality goods and services. The Cabinet Office are consulting on a package of further reforms to public procurement to support the Government’s Industrial Strategy. The Government maintains robust standards across a range of categories of spend, these are set out by the Government Buying Standards (GBS). e.g. Furniture, Office ICT, and Paper & paper products

Whether he has a line in his Departmental budget for costs arising from the planned transfer of sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius.

Costs relating to the Chagos agreement will be incurred from financial year 2026-27. These are being considered as part of the wider Government engagement on the second phase of the Spending Review, which concludes on 11 June 2025. The deal secures the unrestricted control of the Diego Garcia military base for the coming century and beyond. The deal is backed by our US, Canadian, Indian, Australian, New Zealand and NATO allies.