Written questions by Wood.

With reference to the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1372, published on 23 October 2025, and the HMT Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments, updated on 28 July 2025, on what dates the severance payments to (a) Simon Case and (b) Alex Chisholm were approved by (i) the Accounting Officer and (ii) Cabinet Office Ministers, under the prevailing guidance in force at the time.

The payments reported in the CO annual report (page 94) were approved on the following dates: Alex Chisholm - payment was approved by the Cabinet Secretary on 7 February 2024 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 February 2024.Simon Case - payment was approved by the CO Permanent Secretary on 12 March 2025 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 21 March 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82339 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether departments are invoiced (a) by his Department for the use of Ministerial cars and (b) for the use of cars by officials; whether his Department invoices itself for car use; and whether invoicing is done by (i) month, (ii) quarter and (iii) year.

The Government Car Service (GCS) issues monthly invoices to each department for the use of its vehicles and drivers. Departments are responsible for determining the appropriate use of these vehicles, whether for Ministers or senior officials. Separate invoicing procedures are not applied for Ministers and officials. GCS does not directly invoice the Cabinet Office for its services. These transactions are managed through internal budget transfers on a monthly basis.

How long it takes on average for a new member of UK Security Vetting staff to become fully accredited to handle (a) Counter Terrorist Check and Security Check and (b) Developed Vetting cases.

The training, learning and development needs of vetting officials within United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is kept under regular review, in line with changes in policy, legislation or the external environment. This approach allows UKSV to maximise skills and meet resourcing requirements whilst ensuring that HMG risk appetite is underpinned by a National Security Vetting provision that is both rigorous and assured. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Whether the Future of Work Committee has (a) met and (b) carried out business via correspondence since 5 September 2025.

It is a long established precedent that the frequency and business of Cabinet Committee meetings is not usually publicly disclosed.

If he will publish the 2025 Honours Committee handbook.

As noted in our answer to PQ 43222, the Honours Committee handbook is a document used to induct newly appointed independent chairs and committee members to the honours system and the committee process. This document is intended for internal use only. More information on these can be found on gov.uk.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81876 on Government Departments: Advertising, which publications have been assessed as appropriate for government advertising under the SAFE framework.

There are currently no plans to publish the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework.

If he will publish the substantive information released on 21 October 2025 under the Freedom of Information Act, ref FOI2025/12565.

All Freedom of Information requests are considered on their individual merits in accordance with the relevant legislation. A copy of the information released in the response will be deposited in the House Library.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82668 on New Media Unit: Marketing, how the £13.2 million is allocated by (a) topic and (b) programme.

This allocation has enabled multiple campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 70512 on Government Hospitality: Wines, what the cost of each transaction from Berry Bros was since 4 July 2025; and which items were purchased.

As has been the case under successive administrations, a detailed breakdown of each item in a purchase is not routinely published. Details of Government Procurement Card spending over £500 is published on gov.uk. In March this year, the Government took action to cancel government procurement cards and this is working. In the first 4 months after introducing these changes, spend on GPCs has decreased by £25m (30%) across government compared with the previous 4 months.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81327 on Government Departments: Advertising, on which (a) programmes and (b) topics his Department used each contractor.

As with any communication campaign approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with audiences in alignment with the government's priorities. Social media has been utilised on campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77545 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, whether his Department has undertaken expenditure (a) directly and (b) through contractors on digital influencers outside the New Media Unit since 4 July 2024.

The Cabinet Office has worked with influencers outside of the New Media Unit.

Whether the Prime Minister has had recent discussions with the Chinese government on the planning application for the Chinese Embassy in London.

The decision to call in the planning application for the proposed Chinese Embassy was made by the former Deputy Prime Minister, in line with current policy on call-in. This decision is subject to a quasi-judicial process and independent from the rest of government.

Pursuant to the Answers of 26 September 2025, to Questions 75632, 74515, 74202, on Civil Service: Unpaid Work, whether the Office for National Statistics classifies the occupations of (a) tool-makers, (b) factory owners, (c) Members of Parliament, (d) Ministers of the Crown and (e) civil servants as working class under the NS-SEC framework.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 22nd October is attached.

Pursuant to the Answers of 3 September 2025 to Questions (a) 70458 on Government Departments: Directors and (b) 71225 on Public Appointments: Political Impartiality, through which process previous political activity of a regulated appointee is publicly declared if that political activity falls under the definition of political activity under the Governance Code on Public Appointments but does not fall under the definition of political activity under the guidance for Non-Executive Board members interests.

The Governance Code on Public Appointments requires the public disclosure of political activity within the last five years for successful candidates. The Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies requires appointees to comply with the rules of the appointing body on handling conflicts of interests, which typically require the public declaration of potential conflicts, usually in the body’s register of interests. The general guidance on the declaration of interests process for Non-Executive Board Members, which would include political activity, is published on Gov.uk, with the intention of standardising the management and publication of such interests across UK Government departments in order to increase consistency and transparency around those interests, as recommended by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee.

If he will publish the Model Contract for Senior Civil Servants.

Contracts for SCS are not published publicly, so we will not be publishing a model contract.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 July 2025 to Question 63340 on Civil Servants: Location, if he will publish the Civil Service relocation policy released by Cabinet Office under the Freedom of Information Act, ref: FOI2025/12570 of 28 August 2025.

We will place a copy of the Cabinet Office's relocation policy, as released in FOI2025/12570, in the Library of the House. The policy in question applies only to Cabinet Office staff rather than the wider Civil Service.

If he will make it his policy to review his Department's guidance entitled Government Function: People – Continuous Improvement Assessment guidance, in the context of the judgment of the Supreme Court in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers [2025] UKSC 16.

A Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework is a management tool designed to provide consistent, comparable management information that supports functional assurance and continuous improvement. We will review and update policy wherever necessary to ensure it complies with the latest legal requirements.

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 75447on Trade Union Officials: Facility Agreements, whether the Cabinet Office guidance on facility time has changed since July 2024; what is the maximum permitted amount of facility time as percentage of the overall paybill.

The Cabinet Office guidance on facility time has not changed since July 2024. The guidance states that facility time costs in the Civil Service should not represent more than 0.1% of a department’s paybill.

Whether he his Department applies nationality criteria to contractors who work on Government IT programmes.

All contractors working in central government will go through National Security Vetting at a level that is appropriate for the work they are expected to deliver, as decided by the relevant departmental body. As a minimum, all government contractors will be cleared at Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) level. This vetting includes identity checks, employment history, unspent criminal convictions, and the right to work in the UK. If the role is deemed to require additional security clearances, such vetting will be undertaken. The government will engage the best qualified individual for the role regardless of nationality, as long as they have the appropriate security clearance deemed necessary for the role (including the right to work in the UK).

Pursuant to the Answer of 16 September 2025 to Question 74666,on Intelligence Services: Unpaid Work, which internship schemes with the security services are white British people eligible to apply to.

In recent years, the UK Intelligence Community (UKIC) has run a number of internships and placement schemes. They are designed to provide insight about what it is like to work in UKIC to individuals who have particular skills and experience, want to work in a particular area and/or are from demographics and backgrounds under-represented across Government. The eligibility criteria for specific internship schemes in UKIC are made publicly available on agency websites at the time when they are advertised.