Written questions by Wood.

Whether the Cabinet Secretary’s review into matters relating to Lord Mandelson will include consideration of any introductions made during his time as a Minister that were subsequently relevant to applications to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and whether the review will assess the adequacy and completeness of the information provided in connection with applications.

The former Cabinet Secretary was asked to review available information regarding Peter Mandelson’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during his period as a Minister. After an initial review of some documents, the matter was referred to the police. In light of the ongoing criminal investigation that was announced, that review has now been paused. The government is cooperating fully with the police investigation and providing any assistance required.

Whether Sir Chris Wormald undertook a formal exit interview upon leaving the post of Cabinet Secretary.

I refer to the Gov.uk announcement of Sir Chris Wormald’s departure. No further comment will be provided.

Who is responsible for (a) undertaking and (b) overseeing the due diligence process in relation to the appointment of a Cabinet Secretary; and how potential conflicts of interest are managed.

I refer to the Gov.uk announcement of the Cabinet Secretary appointment, which said that a due diligence process has also been undertaken by the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office and the interim Government Chief People Officer. The First Civil Service Commissioner approved the comprehensive due diligence process and agreed the conclusions drawn, to form the basis for the Prime Minister to make an appointment decision. All Permanent Secretaries must follow the ‘Declaration and management of outside interests in the Civil Service’ guidance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95641 on Permanent Secretaries: Contracts, if he will publish the model Permanent Secretary contract in operation in 2012.

Individual permanent secretary contracts were based on the SCS model contract up until 2013. In relation to answer 88716, the permanent secretary model contract placed in the House Library has been in force since July 2013.

With reference to the Prime Minister's Ministerial direction of 16 February 2026, what the value of the special severance payment was.

Details of any payments made to the previous Cabinet Secretary will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual report and Accounts for 2025-26.

With reference to the answer of 3 February 2026 to Question HL13976 on Civil Servants: Media and Public Speaking, on what dates the guidance has been revised since July 2024; and what his planned timetable is for further revision and policy development.

Guidance is regularly reviewed and updated, in accordance with best practices, to maintain its relevance, appropriateness, and effectiveness in addressing its intended topics. The timeline for this is dependent upon the area of policy development in question.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2026 to Question 111711 on Ministers: Public Appointments, whether this process requires (a) previous political activity to be declared prior to appointment and (b) current political activity to be declared on an ongoing basis.

Direct Ministerial Appointments are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. As set out in the Code, all potential conflicts of interest - including political activity where that is an actual or perceived conflict to the role - should, as a minimum, be declared publicly, usually in the sponsor body’s register of interests. It is the sponsor body’s responsibility to maintain a register of interests, which should be proactively refreshed twice yearly at the beginning of the fiscal year and at the beginning of Q3. Appointees are asked to inform their sponsor body throughout the year of any relevant additions or changes to their interests as soon as they occur.

Pursuant to the answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73331 on Home Office: Redundancy Pay, whether severance payments made to departing special advisers are subject to the £30,000 tax-free allowance.

Under HMRC rules, severance payments for special advisers are taxable as earnings because they are a contractual entitlement.

What his policy is on grants being awarded to bodies with terms of reference that permit lobbying using grant funds.

Grant funding should be used for its intended purpose and deliver value for money. Undertaking lobbying activity using government grant funding is not permitted, except in rare cases where lobbying activity is expressly part of the purpose of the award of the grant. This policy does not impinge on an organisation's ability to use funding from other, non-government sources, however they see fit.

With reference to the publications entitled No10 special advisers hospitality, October to December 2024 and No10 special advisers hospitality, January to March 2025, updated 27 March and 26 June 2025, whether clients of Global Counsel attended the dinners with Matthew Doyle and Global Counsel on (a) 3 October 2024 and (b) 19 February 2025.

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers requires special advisers to declare details of hospitality received.The Special Advisers’ Transparency Guidance available on GOV.UK provides further details of requirements for reporting of gifts, hospitality, and meetings with senior media figures.

With reference to the transparency data entitled Cabinet Office special advisers hospitality, January to March 2025, published on 26 June 2025, who attended the Global Counsel (a) dinner on 27 February and (b) drinks on 20 January 2025.

The Code of Conduct for Special Advisers requires special advisers to declare details of hospitality received.The Special Advisers’ Transparency Guidance available on GOV.UK provides further details of requirements for reporting of gifts, hospitality, and meetings with senior media figures.

Pursuant to the Answer of 17 February 2026 to Question 110807 on Hannah Bronwin, when his Department plans to publish her entry on the Announcements: Direct Ministerial Appointments portal.

All entries can be found on the Direct Ministerial Appointments portal.

Pursuant to the answer of 22 December 2025 to Question 99535 on List of Ministerial Responsibilities, if he will list the full Ministerial responsibilities of the hon. Member for Makerfield.

The Honorable Member for Makerfield is no longer serving as a Minister following his resignation on 28 February 2026.

What the salary is of the (a) former and (b) new Cabinet Secretary.

Salary details for the former Cabinet Secretary as at 11 November 2025 are available here. Details for the new Cabinet Secretary will be published at a later date.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Dame Antonia Romeo appointed as first female Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service to drive change and implement the government’s agenda, of 19 February 2026, if he will publish the guidance on the new enhanced due diligence process.

There are no plans to publish the guidance on the due diligence process followed during the appointment of the Cabinet Secretary.

Whether his Department has made a comparative assessment of the salary outcomes, promotion rates and role progression of (a) participants in the Senior Leaders Scheme and (b) civil servants who did not participate; and whether his Department has undertaken cost benefit analysis of that scheme including average time to promotion, changes in performance markings, retention rates and the financial return on investment.

A feasibility assessment for management evaluations was conducted, concluding that the data necessary was neither timely, easily available nor held centrally.

Pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 104195 on Government Communication Service: Staff, if he will break down that list by individual public bodies within the sponsor organisation.

Publication of this information is not currently planned.

Pursuant to the answer of 3 December 2025 to Question 94199 on Mission Boards: Cabinet Committees, whether the terms of reference for the Mission Boards have been revised.

Missions Boards, including their terms of reference, are the responsibility of each of the lead Secretaries of State: Kickstarting Economic Growth - Chancellor of the ExchequerAn NHS Fit for the Future - Secretary of State for HealthSafer Streets - Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentBreak Down Barriers to Opportunity - Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and EqualitiesMake Britain a Clean Energy Superpower - Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 92595, on Cabinet Office: Revenue and Customs, what arrangements are in place for the sharing of HMRC information with the House of Lords Appointments Commission.

The Government has published a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the arrangements for sharing information between HMRC and the House of Lords Appointments Commission when it considers appointments to the House of Lords. The MoU can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sharing-hmrc-information-to-assist-in-appointments-to-the-house-of-lords/memorandum-of-understanding-accessing-hmrc-information-for-appointments-to-the-house-of-lords--3

What assessment has been made on whether social media influencers paid for by the government are using the “paid partnership” tag on their content; and whether they state that the partnership is with the UK Government.

Influencers are subject to the Advertising Standards Authority.