Written questions by Wood.

Through what mechanism the UK Statistics Authority will communicate its response once it has considered the (a) findings and (b) recommendations in the Sullivan Review.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 21st May is attached.

If he will publish the Cabinet Office Freedom of Information Act response with reference FOI2025/05760 of 14 May 2025.

A copy of the response issued on the 14 May, with third party removed, has been deposite in the House Library .

Which central government residential properties are unoccupied, according to data held by the InSite database.

Individual departments are responsible for management of their respective residential properties, including status of occupancy. The Cabinet Office therefore does not hold information on which central government residential properties are unoccupied.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 49956, and the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 21390, both on Armed Forces: Equality, what his Department's policy is on spending on equality, diversity and inclusion across the public sector.

The controls outlined in the Civil Service Equality Diversity and Inclusion Expenditure Guidance which was published on 14 May 2024 remain in place.

What guidance his Department provides to the House of Lords Appointments Commission on the processes to follow when vetting peerages.

The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent, advisory non-departmental public body. The Commission is responsible for vetting all nominations for life peerages for propriety and advises the Prime Minister on these matters. Information about the Commission’s approach to vetting nominees for propriety is set out on its website.

What unpaid advisers have been appointed by (a) 10 Downing Street and (b) his Department since the general election.

Since 5 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has made one unremunerated Direct Ministerial Appointment. This individual is providing advice on security and defence policy.

Whether the creation of the Ethics and Integrity Commission will involve the (a) abolition and (b) merger of (i) the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, (ii) the Committee on Standards in Public Life, (iii) the Public Appointments Commissioner and (iv) the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists.

I refer the Honourable Member to the answer he was given to PQ UIN 46285 on 28 April 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 April 2025 to Question 41435 on Arms Length Bodies, what the total number of Arms Length Bodies was on 4 July 2024; and what the total number was on 20 May 2025.

The Cabinet Office publishes an annual ALB Landscape Analysis around a year in arrears. The most recently published ALB Landscape Analysis was published on 17 December 2024 and is available here. The list of every Arm's Length Body that has existed between July 2024 and March 2025 is due to be published in 2026.

With reference to the Answer of 19 October 2023 to Question 202664 on Cabinet Office: Senior Civil Servants, how many (a) Directors and (b) Director Generals there are in the Cabinet Office; and how many of those are on secondment from other departments.

As of the 30th April 2025 there were less than 5 individuals on secondment to the Cabinet Office as Directors or Director Generals. Details of the number of Directors and Director Generals can be found in the quarterly organogram published at https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/ff76be1f-4f37-4bef-beb7-32b259413be1/organogram-cabinet-office.

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled Public Bodies Handbook – Part 2: The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether his Department's public bodies team assessed the National Wealth Fund against the requirement that the creation of a new arm's length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Treasury provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the tests in Chapter Two of that guidance the National Wealth Fund met.

The UK Infrastructure Bank has become the National Wealth Fund with an expanded remit, therefore it is not a new ALB. It is captured by the government’s ongoing review of all ALBs, announced on 7 April. This review is part of the government’s plan to streamline the state by closing, merging or repatriating public bodies into departments unless their separate existence can be strongly justified.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 52338 on House of Lords Appointments Commission, whether other competitions have taken place since 4 July 2024 for the House of Lords Appointments Commission which have (a) concluded with appointees and (b) been cancelled after being opened.

There has been one recruitment campaign to appoint independent members to the House of Lords Appointments Commission since July 2024. This campaign is still live.

Further to the Prime Minister's post on X dated 19 May 2025, what is the evidential basis for the proposition that the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding will result in “lower food prices at the checkout” for consumers.

The UK-EU SPS Agreement will cut costs, remove red tape and reduce delays at the border for businesses for most agrifood products imported from the EU. Supermarkets have said publicly the SPS Agreement will help to ease the pressure on food prices.

Whether he plans to publish a Regulatory Impact Assessment for the measures contained in the (a) UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding and (b) UK-EU Security and Defence Partnership.

The Common Understanding between the UK and the EU sets out the results of exploratory discussions and a new agenda for cooperation. The UK and the EU have agreed to take forward these commitments swiftly through technical negotiations. The government will follow normal processes for any necessary legislative changes.No legislative changes are currently proposed as a result of the Security and Defence Partnership.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2025 to Question 51160 on Office for National Statistics: Industrial Disputes, what the average daily occupation is for (a) Newport, (b) Titchfield, (c) London, (d) Manchester, (e) Edinburgh and (f) Darlington, in the most recent period for which figures are available, expressed as the average over a five day period of (i) proportion of desks occupied and (ii) proportion of assigned workforce to that office location attending that office.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 20th May is attached.

Whether new staff members of the (a) National Wealth Fund and (b) Great British Energy will be eligible to join the Civil Service Pension Scheme; and whether existing civil servants who transfer to those new bodies will have their Civil Service pension membership continued under their new employment.

The Cabinet Office, as Scheme Manager for the Civil Service Pension Scheme (CSPS), considers all requests to join the CSPS as part of an employer’s application process. Neither Great British Energy nor National Wealth Fund have submitted an application to join the CSPS, but any such application would be considered by the Cabinet Office in the normal way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 52340 on Government Departments: Equality, in which departments have decisions on EDI spending controls been delegated to their Permanent Secretary.

The following Departments have formally informed the Cabinet Office that their Minister has delegated the decision to approve external Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) expenditure to the Permanent Secretary: Department for Science, Innovation and TechnologyHM TreasuryMinistry for Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentDepartment for Business and TradeCabinet OfficeHome OfficeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportDepartment for Transport

With reference to the Model Special Adviser Contract published on the Government's website, if he will publish a copy of the equivalent template contract for Permanent Secretaries.

As has been the case under successive administrations, contracts for Permanent Secretaries and all other SCS are not published publicly so we will not be placing a copy on GOV.UK.

Whether he plans to lay a new Official Statistics Order to designate the Border Security Command’s statistical outputs as official statistics.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 20th May is attached.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 48562 on Arms Length Bodies, what the sponsoring department is; and in what policy area Project Seahorse is exploring delivery options.

‘Project Seahorse' is considering delivery options for decarbonisation. If taken forward, it would be sponsored by The Department of Energy, Security and Net Zero.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 45016 on Civil Service, if he will issue a Ministerial Correction to the Answer to attach the requested information.

The answer to Question 45016 has now been corrected to include an attachment with the requested information.