Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90739 on Ministers: Public Appointments, what his Department's definition of a desk note is.

The guidance on making direct ministerial appointments that was published on 30 October replaced an internal desk note, with some expanded expectations on due diligence, conflicts of interest, and transparency. It was also expanded to provide greater clarity on direct ministerial appointments for a wider audience, including setting out publicly where such roles sit within the various routes into government.

If he will publish the Cabinet Office disclosure, Ref: FOI2025/18072, of 5 December 2025, on Ministerial Gifts.

The Cabinet Office confirmed in its response to this FOI that it does not hold any information in scope of the request.

With reference to to the Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, published on 5 December 2025, if he will publish the proprietary guidance on paid publicity.

For proprietary guidance on paid publicity, please refer to the following link:https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/propriety-guidance/#Paid-publicity

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95647 on Government Department: Advertising, in what formats are data held for spending on public relations, marketing and advertising firms, other than social media firms.

Data is held under categories: Digital, Out of Home, Press, Radio and Television. As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives. The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency, efficacy, and value for the taxpayer.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 94699 on Spectator: Advertising, for what reason GB News has not received a SAFE framework approval.

Although the GB News website is not assessed, GB News is utilised for radio and television advertising.

Further to the Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, published on 5 December 2025, what was the cost to the public purse of influencers for the (a) parent creators on Breakfast Clubs referenced in the guidance and (b) finance content creators on National Living and National Minimum Wage.

The cost of creators for these campaigns was £52,398.

Which public body holds the registered legal title of the Ministerial residences in (a) 11 Downing Street, (b) Admiralty House and (c) 1 Carlton Gardens.

Information on property registered in England and Wales is available to the public by following the following link to HM Land Registry undertaking a search and paying the necessary fees - Search for land and property information https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry The Government Property Agency (GPA), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, holds Admiralty House following an administrative transfer in April 2018, and is responsible for the administration and payment of any tax liabilities.

Who the internal and external members are of each Mission Board.

It is for the lead Secretary of State to determine the membership of their Mission Board.

With reference to deposited paper DEP2025-0768, committed on 21 November 2025, further to paragraph 18 of the desk note, how many direct ministerial appointments have been made since July 2024 where the name of the appointment has not been placed in the public domain.

Since July 2024, the Cabinet Office has given advice on the announcement of one Direct Ministerial Appointment being exempt from publication, who was providing short-term advice on security and defence policy.

Further to the Answer of 21 November 2025 to Questions 90250 and 90239 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, what was the specific date in May that Westminster City Council were notified by the Government that the Ministerial residence of the then Deputy Prime Minister was liable for the second homes premium and the March council tax bill should be re-issued with the premium.

The Government Property Agency (GPA), an executive agency of the Cabinet Office, is responsible for the administration and payment of any tax liabilities for Admiralty House. The Government Property Agency wrote to Westminster City Council in June to confirm that the former Deputy Prime Minister was residing in Admiralty House on a second home basis. Westminster City Council issued a bill applying the second home premium in July, which was paid in full the same day. The bill was paid for the full year of 1 April 2025 - 31 March 2026. The Cabinet Office accepts that it was delayed in notifying Westminster City Council that the Admiralty House flat allocated to the former Deputy Prime Minister was being used on a second home basis. This was not the former Deputy Prime Minister’s error or responsibility. It is regrettable that this delay occurred. The Cabinet Office is taking steps to change its internal processes to ensure this does not happen again.

Pursuant to the Answer of 28 April 2025 to Question 47529 on Government Departments: TikTok, whether (a) the Prime Minister and (b) Number 10 officials have installed TikTok on their corporate communication devices.

The existing policy regarding TikTok on government devices remains unchanged. It is a longstanding principle that for security reasons, it would not be appropriate to comment on 10 Downing Street’s IT systems.

Whether the second homes council tax premium has been paid on the Prime Minister’s residence in Chequers since 1 April 2025.

Chequers is owned by The Chequers Trust, and therefore payment of Council Tax is not a matter for the government.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office further to the Answer of 4 November 2025, to Question 85708, on Honours: Forfeiture, if he will publish the criteria for removal from the Roll of the Peerage.

There are no set criteria for removal from the Roll of the Peerage.

How many and what proportion of officials at each Senior Civil Service grade completed the One Big Thing 2024 Innovation Masterclass from each Department and executive agency; and if he will provide this information in tabular form showing, for each organisation, the total number of officials in scope, the number completing the Masterclass, and the resulting completion rate, alongside the corresponding figures for all staff in that organisation.

All publicly available data related to completions of the training can be found in the Evaluation of One Big Thing 2024, published on 10 October 2025. A breakdown of the proportion of officials at each Senior Civil Service grade who completed the One Big Thing 2024 Innovation Masterclass from each Department and executive agency is not publicly available.

What steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for Developed Vetting renewals.

I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the responses given on 27 November 2025 to PQs 93373 and 92997.

Pursuant to the answer of 10 October 2025, to Question 70464, on Government Communication Service: Audit, what is the timetable for the completion of the current annual data collection.

The 2025 data collection is complete.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 September 2025 to Question 69278 Cabinet Office: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution, if he will itemise the £7,395 spent.

The £7,395 covered in the response to Question 69278 was part of the £8,500 budget referred to in Question 65788 asked by the same MP on 8 July 2025. Under EDI Expenditure rules that budget was listed in the data published on 30 May 2025 and was the maximum approved budget, a ceiling rather than actual spend. Expenditure within this budget facilitated a presence on behalf of the Civil Service at 26 Pride events across the UK. Itemising spend across all supplier organisations may breach commercial agreements between the department and suppliers.

If he will publish the Permanent Secretary model contract released under FOI reference FOI2025/09712 of September 2025.

I refer to my answer to 88716, where I confirm a copy of the model contract has been placed in the House Library.

What his policy is on severance payments to outgoing Cabinet Secretaries and Permanent Secretaries not provided for in the model contract.

The Permanent Secretary model contract sets out the contractual detail on compensation payments for all Permanent Secretaries. This applies to the Cabinet Secretary and there is no separate internal guidance. A copy of the model contract has been placed in the House Library.

What is the most recent estimate of (a) the headcount size of the Government Communication Service and (b) staff who work in communications functions in the Civil Service who are not GCS.

I refer the Hon Member to the response provided for PQ 92419 for the headcount size of the Government Communication Service. Information regarding Civil Service staff working in communications functions who are not part of the Government Communication Service is not held centrally.