Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026, to Question 100882, on Disinformation, whether Storyzy is used to monitor content relating to gender issues.

GCS does not use Storyzy to monitor content relating to gender issues.

What changes have been made to (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Government Digital Service and (c) Government Communications Service guidance on the use of (i) HM Government and (ii) UK Government branding, including when the latter should be used rather than the former in publicity and communications since July 2024.

Since July 2024, guidance has been updated to reflect the new Royal Coat of Arms following the accession of His Majesty The King. A strategic decision has been made to adopt "UK Government" as the primary identity for all public-facing communications.

If he will request that the Ethics and Integrity Commission undertakes an investigation in Arden Strategies and lobbying integrity.

The purpose of the Ethics and Integrity Commission is to promote the highest standards in public life. Its terms of reference set out its responsibilities and remit, which can be found at the following link: https://eic.independent-commission.uk/what-we-do/terms-of-reference/ As set out in the terms of reference, the Ethics and Integrity Commission does not investigate individual cases.

If he will place in the Library a copy of the election purdah guidance distributed to Whitehall departments for the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election.

The rules governing the conduct of UK Government civil servants during a by-election are an extension of those that apply at all times as set out in the Civil Service Code and as described in the published guidance on general elections, which is published on gov.uk and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/election-guidance-for-civil-servants. A reminder of these rules was provided to departments following the calling of the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Whether Lord Mandelson had a No10 pass whilst he was Ambassador to the United States.

As was the case under successive administrations, the Government does not comment on security matters.

What formal title and position John Pond held on 2 August 2009 within Downing Street.

It would not be appropriate to comment on individual staffing matters.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77563 on Palantir, whether there is a record of who the Prime Minister (a) met and (b) spoke to during that visit.

The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff. In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas. This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.

Whether the Cabinet Secretary has received representations from Gordon Brown on communications between Lord Mandelson and Jeffery Epstein.

I refer the Hon Member to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister’s words to the House during the debate on the ‘US Department of Justice Release of Files’ on Monday 2 February (Hansard Vol 780, Col 49). https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-02-02/debates/10A2B314-165E-4992-A7BF-0F30739D7BBD/USDepartmentOfJusticeReleaseOfFiles

With reference to his oral statement of 2 February 2026, Official Report, Column 47, on US Department of Justice Release of Files, whether he has a formal terms of reference for his review into Lord Mandelson; what his planned timetable is; to whom will it report; and whether there will be a public report.

The review, which was being carried out by the former Cabinet Secretary, has been paused in light of the ongoing criminal investigation that was announced. The government is cooperating fully with the police investigation and will provide any assistance required. We are also working to respond to the Humble Address motion.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 94697, on House of Commons Director General: Public Appointments, whether the permanent Director General of the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution Group will be publicly advertised on the public version of the Civil Service Jobs website.

The recruitment campaign is still currently in planning stages and details will be released in due course.

Whether his Department has assessed the salary outcomes, promotion rates and role progression of participants in the Beyond Boundaries programme compared to a control group of comparable civil servants who did not participate; and whether his Department has undertaken a cost benefit analysis of the programme, including average time to promotion, changes in performance markings, retention rates and the financial return on investment to the public purse.

Beyond Boundaries is a 12-month cross-government talent programme that launched in 2021 and in October 2025 we welcomed 794 participants. It is designed to help participants develop the knowledge, skills and networks required to build a satisfying and effective career in the Civil Service. There has been no direct comparison of Beyond Boundaries participants against a control group. Current evaluation data is based upon an anonymous, post programme, survey of participants providing an aggregated picture of participant outcomes. In future, Beyond Boundaries will be part of the National School for Government and Public Services and since October 2025 has been supporting our mission to deliver more training in-house and reduce expenditure on external providers to provide better value for the taxpayer. This provided departments with a reduction in the cost per learner of 37.5%

Pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2025 to Question 90241 on 10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality, how much has been spent on hospitality by No10 since 4 July 2024.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 20 May 2025, Official Report, PQ 49763.

What role the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has in monitoring Bloom Procurement Services Ltd’s compliance with the NEPRO3 framework; and whether CCS is required to audit the fees and margins applied by Procurement Services Ltd on behalf of client departments.

The NEPRO3 framework is not managed or administered by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS). CCS does not monitor the compliance of Bloom Procurement Services Ltd with the NEPRO3 framework, and it does not have a role in auditing any fees or margins that may be applied by Bloom Procurement Services Ltd to departments.

If he will publish Department’s fixed asset register.

Summary information relating to the Cabinet Office fixed asset register is available in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92286 on Government Departments: Official Cars, which Government Departments have access to a official car that can be used by civil servants.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer on 26 November 2025 (PQ 92286).

Pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2025 to Question 100331 on Ministers: Official Cars, how many civil servants have access to an official car from the Government Car Service.

I refer the Hon Member to my answer on 14 January 2026 (PQ 103782).

With reference to the Government's correspondence entitled Letter from the Prime Minister on government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017, whether the approach set out in the letter is Government policy.

The Government's approach to transparency and open data is set out on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-to-publish-central-government-transparency-data.

Whether life peers who are on a Leave of Absence may be removed from the Roll of the Peerage.

The June 2004 Royal Warrant provided for the creation and maintenance of the Roll of the Peerage. Under the terms of the Warrant, any person entered on the Roll may apply to be removed from it, including life peers who are on a Leave of Absence. The Government has announced that it will introduce legislation to allow peerages to be removed from disgraced peers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2025 to Question 92012 on Cabinet Office: training, if he will publish a breakdown of costs for the £5,288.40 spent on the away days.

The cost of Cabinet away days are disclosed in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts. Some of the costs were inadvertently omitted from the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2024-25 due to an administrative error. The total cost incurred was £8,248.40 The Cabinet away day taking place at The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office came at a cost of £2,960 for catering. The Cabinet away day taking place at Lancaster House came at a cost of £5,288.40, covering expenses for AV, catering, security and staff.

Pursuant to the corrected Answer of 7 January 2026 to Question 98100 on Cabinet Office: Public Appointments and with reference to his Department's document entitled Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, published in October 2025, if he will provide a hyperlink to the information in that answer on gov.uk, including time commitment and appointment end date.

Information related to Direct Ministerial Appointments is available on the Direct Ministerial Appointments page on the HMG Public Appointments website.