Written questions by Wood.

Whether he takes steps to ascertain whether Ministers occupy official Ministerial residences as primary residences.

I refer the Hon Member to PQ 95895, PQ 81873, and HL 9337.

How his Department checks the office attendance of individual civil servants.

The monitoring of office attendance remains the responsibility of individuals, line managers and business units. Line Managers are expected to be aware of, and ensure compliance with, the minimum 60% expectation for their direct reports.

What meetings Varun Chandra has had with external organisations excluding senior media executives since his appointment.

In line with longstanding process, relevant meetings are declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.

Pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025, to Question 93384 on Permanent Secretaries: Redundancy Pay, if he will publish that list.

I refer to my answer for 93384. Payments are published in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for the financial years in which they were made. These are available on GOV.UK

Pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2025, to Question 50576 on Cabinet Office: Recruitment, whether members of the Senior Civil Service can be permanently promoted up a grade without open and fair competition.

Promotion on a permanent basis can only take place after fair and open competition. Senior Civil Service vacancies are advertised externally by default and exceptions must be approved by a Minister or Permanent Secretary equivalent in non-Ministerial departments. Civil Service Commissioners chair all competitions for SCS3 and SCS4 posts to ensure appointments are made on merit.

If he will publish the Civil Service Recruitment Framework.

The Civil Service Recruitment Framework exists to ensure vacancies are consistently accessible to the widest possible pool of talent. There are no plans to publish this internal-facing framework to the public domain, as it constitutes HR-to-HR guidance designed for departments to integrate into their respective policies and processes.

What is the timetable for Departments to implement the Civil Service diversity network guidance in their own departmental diversity networks; and whether the diversity policies adopted by individual departments are centrally monitored or held by the Cabinet Office.

Responsibility for, and management of, departmental diversity networks, is delegated to individual departments as the employer. This includes the decision to adopt or align with the Staff Network Policy. The Cabinet Office has not set a timetable for departments. Departmental policies are not monitored or held centrally by the Cabinet Office.

Pursuant to the answer of 3 September 2025 to Question 69366 on 9 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, what is the reason for the delay in submitting the invoice for the works in 2024.

The invoice submission was delayed by the contractor. Payment could not be made until the invoice was received.

With reference to the Information Commissioner decision notice of 29 October 2025, ref IC-362303-N0J6, if he will publish his Department's submission to the ICO, with personal information redacted.

The Information Commissioner’s Office summarises the position of a public authority and the requester within its published decision notice. As has been the case under successive administrations, the Cabinet Office does not publish the submissions it makes to the Commissioner during the course of his investigations.

Pursuant to the answer of 15 May 2025 to Question 50576, on Cabinet Office: Recruitment, what is a level move.

In the Civil Service a level move is when a civil servant moves from one role to another at the same grade as their current one. This can be from one government department to another or within the same department.

What information his Department holds on what leadership and promotion schemes run by the Civil Service are restricted to people (a) from ethnic minorities and (b) with other protected characteristics.

Promotion in the Civil Service is through fair and open competition and is overseen by the Civil Service Commission.The Cabinet Office is responsible for centrally managed leadership development programmes for staff at G7 to DD (the Accelerated Development Schemes). Recruitment to these programmes is guided by the same principles. Participation in the Accelerated Development Schemes is not restricted to ethnicity or other protected characteristics.

With reference to The Public Appointments Data Report 2024-25, published on 2 December 2025, whether Ministers requested that the socio-economic background of the applicants for public appointments to be monitored.

The government is committed to ensuring that public appointments are more representative of our nations and regions, including socio-economic background.

With reference to the Public Appointments Data Report 2024-25, published on 2 December 2025, and with reference to previous reports, for what reason the Public Appointments Data Report 2024-25 does not include information on political activity.

The Public Appointments Data Report 2024-25 did not include information on the political activity of public appointees due to the transition to the public appointments digital service in 2023. This data is now being collected and will be considered for inclusion in future reports.

Whether civil servants who act as coaches within the Internal Coaching Service are permitted to provide coaching sessions during their contracted working hours.

Civil servants who act as coaches within the Internal Coaching Service are permitted to provide coaching sessions during their contracted working hours. Participation in the coaching service often forms an additional work objective, and coaches are responsible for discussing their participation with their line managers.

Pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93375 on Government Departments: Facilities Agreements, whether his department holds information on which departments have given agreement to allow paid time to be used for trade union activities.

The Cabinet Office does not hold any central records on which departments have given agreement to allow paid time to be used for trade union activities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 November 2025 to Question 90730 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether vehicles from the Government Car Service are routinely provided to any official in the Cabinet Office other than the Cabinet Secretary.

The Government Car Service (GCS) offers vehicles to government departments as a shared resource. Each department independently determines the allocation of these vehicles in line with the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code, as appropriate. For security reasons the details of specific allocations are not released.

Whether his Department provides guidance to civil servants on personal tax implications for the use of official cars provided by the Government Car Service.

The Government Car Service (GCS) does not provide tax guidance. Tax matters are the responsibility of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and individuals are expected to refer to HMRC guidance or seek independent advice as appropriate.

With reference to page 33 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, published on 23 October 2025, whether his Department is currently in full compliance with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Phase 2 requirements.

The Cabinet Office is compliant with Phase 2 TCFD requirements for the 2024-25 financial year, covering Governance, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets (p45 of the annual report). These disclosures were reviewed by the NAO audit to ensure mandated requirements were published. We reported Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions and are proceeding with Phase 3 implementation in the 2025-26 Annual Report.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91375 on Cabinet Office: Facilities Agreements, whether paid trade union activity facility time in a (a) department and (b) Arm’s Length Body must be approved by a Minister.

The Cabinet Office issued Facility Time Framework is intended to apply to all departments and executive agencies employing civil servants. It encourages Arms Length Bodies to adopt the Framework where possible. The Framework specifies that paid time off to undertake trade union activities should be agreed by the department’s Secretary of State or Permanent Secretary. A copy of the Facility Time Framework and its supporting guidance was deposited in the House Library earlier this year.

With reference to his Department's publication entitled Public-sector trade union facility time data, updated on 27 November 2025, if he will define trade union (a) duties and (b) activities.

The Cabinet Office guidance on reporting trade union facility time data includes examples of what counts as trade union duties and activities. See, the Cabinet Office guidance: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-trade-union-facility-time-data For detailed definitions of trade union duties and activities, please refer to the Acas Code of Practice on time off for trade union duties and activities: Acas Code of Practice: https://www.acas.org.uk/acas-code-of-practice-on-time-off-for-trade-union-duties-and-activities