Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104803, how much the two annual pay awards were; and whether the FDA is recognised as a trade union.

As set out previously (UIN 54797), the government’s policy is that pay awards for special advisers are considered annually, and any such award is linked to the approach taken for the Senior Civil Service. In line with the headline award for senior civil servants, the 2024/25 pay award for special advisers was 5% and the 2025/26 pay award for special advisers was 3.25%. The FDA is recognised as a trade union for special advisers.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 20254 to Question 98794 on Mission Boards, which Secretary of State leads each Mission Board.

Missions Boards 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 13 January 2026 to Question 103794,on Ministers: Aviation, which business unit of his Department holds the data referenced in the VIP International Flights privacy notice.

The data referenced is held by Cabinet Office Commercial.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 104805, on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, whether the former Cabinet Secretary’s exit payment was made through the (a) the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, (b) the Injury Benefit Scheme or (c) another Civil Service scheme.

As set out in the Cabinet Office accounts (page 86), the payment for the former Cabinet Secretary was a severance payment, with the value calculated using the Civil Service Compensation Scheme tariff.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service by (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) private contractors.

The Government Car Service does not provide advice or guidance on the provision of cars outside its remit, including arrangements made by the Metropolitan Police or private contractors.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105247 on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who took the decision to recall the papers.

The redactions to the information were agreed at the appropriate level by Cabinet Office officials, following engagement with The National Archives. Papers were not recalled from The National Archives, which is where the closed extracts remain.

Pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 42994 on Government Departments: Aviation, whether helicopter travel under the Central Cabinet Office Corporate Travel Agency Contract has been commissioned since April 2025.

Ministerial travel is carefully considered to ensure both efficiency and the interests of the taxpayer are prioritised.While the Cabinet Office can facilitate helicopter travel in exceptional circumstances, routine helicopter journeys for ministers are no longer carried out under this Government.Helicopter travel has been commissioned under the Cabinet Office Central Travel Contract on five occasions since April 2025. Only one of these flights was for a government minister.24 Prime Ministerial helicopter tasks were facilitated under the Command Support Air Transport Fleet between 01 February 2021 and 04 September 2023.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104162 on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, what the department, grade and job title was of the 90 civil servants recruited that were advertised across government but not recruited externally.

The table below shows the breakdown of grades for the vacancies referred to in our previous answer: GradeOffers MadeSCS Pay Band 161SCS Pay Band 221SCS Pay Band 34SCS Pay Band 44Grand Total90 In order to release details of roles advertised cross-government, we would need to consult with each vacancy holder/recruitment team to understand why the role was not advertised externally (i.e. was this due to logistics or for security reasons) and seek their consent to public release. This would exceed the cost limit of PQs and, as such, we are unable to provide this information.

If the Government will prepare an updated version of a cross-Whitehall Government War Book.

Developing plans for civilian assistance to the military in a time of conflict is a key component of the Cabinet Office’s Home Defence Programme. It is an evolving and enduring programme of work which provides defence, security and resilience planning, focused on aligning military and civil effort in the event of a period of crisis and international hostilities affecting the UK. This work is informed by and reflects the recommendations from government strategies, including the Strategic Defence Review, National Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan.

With reference to Q341 of the oral evidence session of the Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development Committee, on Oral evidence: Work of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, HC 385, 3 November 2025, if he will make it Government policy that Parliamentary select committees can question direct ministerial appointments in an oral evidence session.

The government recently published guidance on making Direct Ministerial Appointments, which sets out the principles for this route into government. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/direct-ministerial-appointments

If he will take steps to reduce the number of government policy announcements.

The Government is committed to communicating clearly and effectively with the public about policies that affect their lives.

What the annual cost has been of the META programme in the past financial year, including the development centre, executive coaching, workshops, senior mentorship and all administration, and how many individuals participated in the past year.

The total expenditure for the delivery of the META Leadership Programme in the last financial year (20024/25) totalled to £534,225. This figure incorporates £355,782 in resourcing/administration, allocated to delivery of META and an additional programme conducted during this timeframe, as well as alumni activities. Over this period, 133 core participants took part over two intakes.

On what evidential basis his Department has estimated the number of officials who plan to leave through the voluntary exit scheme; and how many plan to leave by Department and public body.

The Cabinet Office collects some data on projected exits through its management of the Redundancy and Compensation control, based on departmental returns.In terms of exits, I refer you to my previous answer PQ 82675. The most accurate data is held by individual departments, and will be reported in their Annual Report and Accounts.

How many full time equivalent staff support Civil Service Coffee Connect.

We have been unable to identify any such central Civil Service initiative.

How many people applied and were appointed to the Public Leaders Programme; and what is the expected cost to the public purse of the programme, including staffing, delivery, administration and digital support.

79 people applied to the Public Leaders Programme for the 2026 cohort, with 61 joining the programme successfully. Some of the costs for delivery in the later stages of the year are still to be confirmed, so the current estimated overall cost to the public purse of the programme is £625,889.09.

What assessment the Department has made of the salary outcomes, promotion rates and role progression of participants in the Directors Leadership Programme compared to a control group of comparable civil servants who did not participate; and what cost benefit analysis the Department has undertaken on expenditure on the programme including any assessment of average time to promotion, changes in performance markings, retention rates and the financial return on investment to the public purse.

A comprehensive assessment of salary outcomes, promotion rates, and role progression for Directors Leadership Programme participants against a control group (or formal cost-benefit analysis) is not currently feasible. A feasibility assessment for management evaluations showed that the required workforce data for rigorous evaluation on these issues are either not easily available or not held centrally; or sufficient time has not passed for enough participants to provide robust data on these measures. An implementation and process evaluation of DLP is in progress, with a public-facing report expected around Summer 2026. A public-facing report is also planned at the same time on the lessons learned (and guidance) on sharing workforce data to facilitate analysis in future on similar issues.

With reference to the Cabinet Office Government Procurement Card spend over £500 data for October 2025, published on 27 November 2025, what was the purpose of the expenditure for a photography course in London; which officials attended; and what was the full name of the specific supplier.

This transaction was used for specialist digital training for four members of staff at a cost of £170 each. This was provided at a discounted rate following a search for the cheapest available supplier.With the move to digital communications, it is important that we produce usable images from relevant government events and announcements.Training existing staff to take photographs presents a cost saving compared to the use of external photographers.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 December 2025 to Question 95644 on Cabinet Office: OCS Group, whether the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) Government Property Agency have access to the information entered onto the Social Value Portal.

The Cabinet Office does not have access to the information entered onto the Social Value Portal in relation to OCS Group. However, The GPA has access to the Social Value Portal in respect of its OCS Group contracts.

With reference to his Department's documents entitled House of Lords Appointments Commission - Independent Member (up to 2), opening date 3 January 2025, and the Governance Code on Public Appointments, updated on 30 October 2025, if he will state who was the independent panel member.

As published on the GOV.UK Public Appointments webpage when the campaign was first advertised, the Independent Panel Member for the House of Lords Appointments Commission - Independent Member (up to 2) was initially Lord Adebowale. Althea Loderick (Southwark Council CEO) took on the role in July 2025, when Lord Adebolwale became unavailable in the latter stages. The Public Appointments webpage was updated accordingly.

What discussions he has had with the Office for National Statistics to (a) remove and (b) amend questions on gender identity in the next Census.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 14th January is attached.