Written questions by Wood.

How much has been spent on hospitality by the No10 business unit since 4 July 2024.

10 Downing Street engages with businesses from a variety of sectors to deliver economic growth, in collaboration with other government departments. There has been no hospitality expenditure by the No10 Business Team since 4 July 2024.

With reference to paragraph 60 of the Decision Note from the Commissioner for Public Appointments on the Appointment of the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator, published on 6 November 2025, what is the timetable for his Department to (a) consult on and (b) implement the recommendations.

The Commissioner for Public Appointments provides independent assurance that public appointments are made in accordance with the Principles of Public Appointments and the Governance Code on Public Appointments. Following the Commissioner’s investigation into the appointment of the Chair of the Independent Football Regulator, the Government welcomes his findings against which we are reviewing the robustness of the current guidance with a view to learning the lessons from the report.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 86054 on Cabinet Office: Lord Lieutenants, when his Department first established a formal complaints procedure for (a) Lord-Lieutenants, (b) Vice Lord-Lieutenants and (c) Deputy Lieutenants; and on what statutory basis this procedure was created.

A formal complaints procedure relating to the Lieutenancies was published in 2021. The Lieutenancies Act 1997 and the Northern Ireland (Lieutenancy) Order 1975 provide the statutory framework relating to Lieutenancies.

With reference to the Correspondence from the Interim Chair of ACOBA to the Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office on the closure of ACOBA and reform of the Rules, published on 12 October 2025, for what reason the letter was removed from gov.uk.

The correspondence was published in error and therefore it was removed from GOV.UK.

What steps he is taking to ensure the 2025 Government Communications Service (GCS) audit includes all GCS staff; and how many GCS staff there are in (a) Downing Street and (b) his Department.

The Government Communication Service (GCS) conducts an annual data collection, requiring government organisations to submit accurate and timely returns through departmental single points of contact. It should be noted that some organisations may have undergone significant changes since the data was collected in July 2025. At the time of the collection:(a) Downing Street: The Number 10 Civil Service Communications team consisted of 44.8 FTE.(b) Cabinet Office: Core Cabinet Office comms roles consisted of 40.43 FTE (of which 22 are roles within Press Office and Cabinet Office Digital Communications) with 141.52 FTE in the Central GCS team (also based within the Cabinet Office).

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 October 2025 to Question 74276 on 10 Downing Street: Official Hospitality, if he will provide a hyperlink to that data.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 10 October 2025, Official Report, PQ 74276.

With reference to his Department's data entitled Expenditure Over £25,000 - September 2025 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 30 October 2025, which events the expenditure with reference SINV-000028834 with Calder Conferences relates to; and what venues were used.

The payment relates to a cancellation fee for CCS Live, an all-staff Crown Commercial Service internal engagement event. The venue booking was made in 2023 - under the previous administration - and at an external venue because no suitable government property was available.Following the 2025 announcement prohibiting the use of non-government venues for government events, the in-person event was cancelled and delivered virtually.This decision was made after considering the cancellation costs against running the event in-person. The decision ensured that no additional costs were incurred, while also mitigating any challenges associated with using an external venue.

Whether 10 Downing Street flew the NATO flag on NATO day in April 2025.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 02 May 2025, Official Report, PQ 48180.

How many meetings the National Security Adviser has had with representatives of the Egyptian Government.

The National Security Adviser meets with a range of individuals and organisations as part of his role providing advice to the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on national security matters. Such meetings are often sensitive in nature, and the Government does not routinely comment on them or their content.

If he will publish an updated list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries.

A list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries was published by the Cabinet Office in November 2025 on gov.uk and is available here. It will be updated periodically.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82341 on Identity Cards: Digital Technology, whether officials from (a) his Department and (b) 10 Downing Street have had discussions with (i) Larry Ellison and (ii) Oracle on Digital ID Cards.

We are not talking to Larry Ellison or Oracle about digital ID. Throughout the development of the new digital ID, the Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including civil society groups, technology companies and industry bodies to make it as effective and inclusive as possible. The Digital ID will be designed, built and run by government digital teams. Any additional specialist external services that may be needed to support delivery will be subject to the usual competitive processes.

Whether he plans to increase Ministerial pay in the next four years.

The entitlement of government ministers to receive a salary is set out in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. Ministerial salaries currently remain frozen. In addition, the government has introduced reforms to ministerial severance pay. Ministers will be expected to forgo their severance pay if they serve in office for fewer than six months, or if they leave office following a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 71198 on Unherd: Advertising, whether the SAFE framework permits government advertising on the Spectator website.

Following assessment under the SAFE Framework, government advertising is permitted on spectator.co.uk.

Whether Irish citizens in Northern Ireland will be required to have digital ID cards.

There will be no requirements for Irish citizens, or UK citizens, to have a digital ID. We will design this system to ensure everyone who has a right to live and work in any part of the UK can do so more easily and securely, ensuring our commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area are respected.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82672 on 9 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, for what reason the room was not politically neutral.

A one-off refresh of the facility was undertaken in December 2024. This was a decorative refresh, and work was undertaken to re-paint the backdrop to blend with existing wood panelling, install lighting, re-cover fabric panels and replace carpet tiles. This has restored the room back to its original politically neutral state.

With reference to footnotes 25 and 26 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC 1372, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason the current Cabinet Secretary has a lower salary than the previous Cabinet Secretary.

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. Details of any individual’s pay are published in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts.

Whether the findings of the One Big Thing 2024 evaluation will be compared with the Civil Service People Survey results in (a) 2024 and (2025) to test whether any change in (i) culture and (ii) innovation capability has been sustained.

As set out in the Evaluating One Big Thing 2024 report, published on GOV.UK, the 2024 and 2025 People Survey findings will be compared to assess whether there has been sustained culture change around innovation.

How his Department's lieutenancy policy team engages with the Association of Lord-Lieutenants; and whether any (a) formal agreement and (b) memorandum of understanding exists between them.

There is no formal agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Cabinet Office Lieutenancy Team and the Association of Lord-Lieutenants. The Association operates on an informal, voluntary basis, and its relationship with government is conducted through established liaison channels.

Whether due diligence undertaken by his Department for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Ambassador considered (a) Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and (b) Global Counsel’s work in China.

Due diligence was undertaken prior to the appointment of the former Ambassador to the United States, and was part of an established process to collate relevant information as part of the identification and selection of the appointee. I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter of 30 October 2025 to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which sets out the process and information contained in the due diligence report: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50019/documents/269409/default/

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 76050 on Lobbying: Official Hospitality, whether the donation in kind of (a) a venue and (b) hospitality from a lobbying firm hosting a Departmental reception should be declared by the Department in their annual accounts; and whether a proportion should be declared by a Minister in their monthly transparency return on gov.uk.

Guidance on what should be published in a department's Annual Reports and Accounts is published by HM Treasury in the Government Financial Reporting Manual. Guidance on what should be declared by a Minister in their monthly gifts and hospitality transparency return is published by the Cabinet Office. Both documents are available on GOV.UK.