Written questions by Wood.

Whether John Pond was a staff member within Downing Street, on 2 August 2009.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the staffing arrangements of a previous administration.

Whether the Whatsapp application on an official phone is deemed to be a (a) corporate and (b) non-corporate channel.

I refer the Member for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire to the Government’s 2023 guidance ‘Using non-corporate communication channels for Government Business’, which is still current.

With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to Question 120353 on 10 Downing Street: Libraries, whether he plans to allow (a) Ministers below Cabinet rank and (b) Cabinet Ministers who have resigned since July

The Library is open to donations from Ministers that attend Cabinet.

With reference to the answer of 27 April 2026 to Question 124852 on Josh Simons, whether the Independent Adviser (a) asked third parties named in the dossier to make representations and (b) received representati

As is set out in the Independent Adviser’s terms of reference, “Information provided to the Independent Adviser for the purposes of their functions is provided in confidence” (paragraph 4.2). The work undertaken by the Independent Adviser on Ministerial S...

What information his Department holds on whether UK citizens can submit Freedom of Information requests to access information held by European agencies in the context of EU programmes such as Erasmus+.

Rights of access to information held by the European Union and its agencies is a matter for the European Union.

With reference to the answer of 10 April 2026 to Question 122715 on Arms Length Bodies, whether he plans to update the Approvals Process guidance incorporating those principles.

At present, there are no plans to update the Approvals Process guidance.It is government policy that arm’s length bodies should only be set up as a last resort, when there is no viable alternative. New bodies are also continuing to be considered under the...

With reference to the Answer of 13 April 2026 to Question 123695 on Labour Together, if he will place in the Library documentation related to the fact-finding exercise.

The Prime Minister asked civil servants in the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics team to establish the facts in relation to allegations concerning the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State jointly in the Department for Science, Innovation and Te...

How many embedded communicators are employed by the Civil Service; and are they part of the Government Communications Service.

The Cabinet Office currently lacks definitive data on the number of communicators embedded across government. This gap is intended to be resolved by the 2026 Data Collection. Embedded communicators are part of the communications profession.

Whether the Information Commissioner has made representations to the Cabinet Office since July 2024 on reforming the Freedom of Information Act regime.

Cabinet Office has not received representations from the Information Commissioner since July 2024 on reform of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Whether any staff previously employed by Labour Together are involved in the Government’s response to the Humble Address on Lord Mandelson.

No. All individuals within the Cabinet Office’s Humble Address response team are existing Civil Servants, some of whom have been loaned to the Cabinet Office by other departments. Civil Servants remain bound by the Civil Service Code at all times, and by ...

With reference to the Answer of 27 April 2026 to Question HL16376 on Government Departments: Bureaucracy, whether new guidance has been issued to the Civil Service on (a) reporting and (b) consultation requireme

Yes, we have issued instructions to officials across government.

Whether any staff in the Propriety and Constitution Group assisting with the Government response to the Humble Address include staff who produced the due diligence regarding Lord Mandelson's appointment.

The Cabinet Secretary has asked the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary to lead on the response to the Humble Address. Staff from across the Cabinet Office are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary. Civil Servants remain bound ...

For how many months the Director General for Propriety and Constitution Group post has been filled on an interim basis.

The Director General Propriety and Constitution Group (PET) has been filled on an interim basis for ten months.

With reference to the answer of 29 April 2026 to Question 126602 on Chris Wormald, if he will publish the settlement agreement.

We will not be publishing the settlement agreement.

Whether his Department holds information on the People’s Republic of China gathering information using Freedom of Information requests.

This Government takes the security of the UK seriously and has a range of robust measures in place to protect sensitive information. The Freedom of Information Act contains a range of exemptions to protect information that should not be disclosed, includi...

With reference to the Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Act response of 10 April 2026 FOI reference: FOI2026/04972, if he will make it his policy to issue a Ministerial Correction to the Answer of 20 Februar

Awaiting answer.

With reference to the Answer of 28 April 2026 to Question 124840 on National Security Council: Disclosure of Information, if he will make it his policy to make a statement to Parliament on the conclusions of the

In line with the policy of successive administrations, we do not comment on live leak inquiries.

With reference to the answer of 28 April 2026, to Question 12480 on National Security Council: Disclosure of Information, whether the National Security Council leak inquiry has concluded.

In line with the policy of successive administrations, we do not comment on live leak inquiries.

With reference to the answer of 2 March 2026 to Question 113782 on Freedom of information: Databases, whether the Fivium e-case database records whether a FOI request is substantively (a) refused, or (b) disclos

Cabinet Office records the outcomes of all FOI requests, including whether information is disclosed or withheld. These are reported in the FOI statistics, which are published on a quarterly and annual basis, on Gov.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/coll...

With reference to the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, updated November 2024, in what circumstances can a special adviser undertake party political work on a UK Parliamentary by-election campaign during off

As per the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, where a special adviser wishes to undertake work for a political party which does not arise out of government business they may do this either in their own time, outside office hours, or under a separate co...