Written questions by Wood.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Prime Minister was (a) consulted on and (b) approved the exit payment to Lord Mandelson.

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

With reference to the transparency data, Expenditure Over £25,000 - February 2026 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 26 March 2026, what is the purpose and nature of the expenditure relating to GRS - SURGE CONTRACT via PEREGRINE INTERNATIONAL.

The expenditure relating to "GRS - SURGE CONTRACT via PEREGRINE INTERNATIONAL" in February 2026 refers to the provision of flexible, ad-hoc recruitment support for the Government Recruitment Service (GRS). This contract enables GRS to scale its capacity to meet fluctuations in customer demand. In February 2026, the expenditure covered 41 unique recruitment actions across 13 government departments. These actions included application sifting, interview scoring, the provision of virtual panel members, and candidate support sessions for reasonable adjustments. This model ensures the timely delivery of essential recruitment services while maintaining financial efficiency.

Pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2026 to Question 113783 on Cabinet Office: Reviews, whether the Propriety and Ethics Team took a preliminary view on whether the Ministerial Code was broken before the matter was referred.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

If he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Government's Crown Commercial Service (CCS) agreement with Microsoft.

The Government keeps the effectiveness of the Strategic Partnership Arrangement 2024 (SPA24) with Microsoft under review. Government Commercial Agency (GCA), formerly Crown Commercial Service (CCS), manages SPA24 with Microsoft, which provides enhanced value and discounted pricing for eligible UK public sector organisations. The agency reviews Microsoft’s performance against SPA24 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) quarterly, focusing on pricing commitments, financial transparency, social value delivery, and client satisfaction. Microsoft’s key contracts are assessed by departments against a range of criteria. KPIs are available on gov.uk.

Innovation and Technology, whether she has issued guidance on whether firms in administration are subject to Subject Access Requests.

All organisations in the UK that act as data controllers are required to comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, including data subject rights such as the right of access.When a firm enters administration, it continues to trade and remains in existence, although it is financially distressed and technically insolvent. Where it continues to act as a data controller, it remains subject to subject access requests in accordance with data protection law.

Whether Ministers can have Ministerial responsibilities removed and remain in post.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation

With reference to the Cabinet Secretary's objectives 2026-27 published on 7 April 2026, what steps the Cabinet Secretary plans to take to deliver her 2026-27 objective of protecting the interests of former Governments and former Ministers.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Pursuant to the Answers of 25 March 2026 to Question 119897 and of 3 February 2026 to Question 108241 on Mission Boards, on what dates the Break Down Barriers to Opportunity Mission Board has met since November 2025.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

With reference to the transparency data, Expenditure Over £25,000 - February 2026 (Cabinet Office Core), published on 26 March 2026, what was the purpose of the expenditure relating to (a) Marketing & Communications to Public Group International Limited of £38,040 and (b) Professional Services to Mediasense Communications Limited of £212,863.

This expenditure was incurred by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA), which transitioned from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) earlier this year. The ​payment of £38,040​ to Public Group International Limited covered GCA communication enhancements, including website optimisation, developing the social media strategy, and updating buying guidance to reflect legislative changes introduced by the Transforming Public Procurement programme. The payment of £212,863 to Mediasense Communications Limited related to audit requirements for the RM6123 Media Services framework. This work provided assurance on financial transparency and contractual compliance, verification of management information and levy payments, and benchmarking to assess value for money against industry rates.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 September 2025 to Question 73331 on Home Office: Redundancy Pay, whether the £30,000 tax-free redundancy allowance also applied to the severance payment to the outgoing Cabinet Secretary.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Pursuant to the Answer of 25 March 2025 to Question 109554 on Civil Servants: Performance Related Pay, if he will publish the minimum standards for diversity and inclusion in the SCS performance management framework.

The SCS performance management framework, which sets out the full set of SCS minimum standards, is published by Gov.uk.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 March 2026 to Question 118531 on Peers, whether the Cabinet Office holds a desk note that is separate from the Governance Code on the processes to be followed for appointing political peerages by the Prime Minister.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation

Pursuant to the Answers of 18 March 2026 to Question 119321 and of 2 June 2025 to Question 54277 on Cabinet Office: Freedom of Information, if he will place in the Library the version of the handbook released under Freedom of Information Act request reference FOI2025/05759, dated 16 May 2025.

As stated in the response to PQ 116510, the Honours Committee handbook released through this request is a version from January 2023 which is no longer accurate. The current handbook is currently being updated. An updated version with relevant redactions will be laid in the House Library as soon as is practicable.

With reference to the transparency data entitled Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for October to December 2025 for all departments, published on 31 March 2026, for what reason the UK Export Finance contract for Media Buying Services with Optimum Media Buying Limited requires the supplier to ensure 33% multicultural representation by year 2 in the media advertising; and what the definition used is for multicultural representation.

The contract in question was called off in 2022 under the previous government from the Crown Services Framework, RM6123 Media Services. That framework required suppliers to consider social value policy themes, and to support contracting authorities to deliver a diverse supply chain. It was as a consequence of that requirement that a KPI for social value (specifically, promoting diversity, inclusion & social mobility in attraction recruitment) was set at ‘33% multicultural representation by year 2 (media industry avg. 18.7%). For the purposes of this key performance indicator, the supplier uses self-identification of participants across a range of ethnicities.UK Export Finance is currently reprocuring the contract under the Procurement Act 2023, which came into force in February 2025. These negotiations, which are currently at an early change, will include new and different key performance indicators.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2026 to Question 114438 on Clean Energy: China, how many (a) Memorandums of Understanding and (b) non-legally binding agreements have been agreed between HM Government and the People's Republic of China since 4 July 2024 that have not been published on gov.uk.

There is no consolidated list on the number of Memorandums of Understanding and other non-legally binding instruments across government and there is no central requirement to routinely publish or collate this information.

With reference to the Cabinet Office news story published on 26 March 2026, Modernising public procurement: backing British businesses and building a fairer economy, if he will publish his new definition of social value.

On 26 March, the government announced plans for a new definition of social value that will strengthen the importance of community impact, putting it at the heart of future buying decisions. The Cabinet Office is developing this definition with input from businesses, trade unions, community groups and civil society organisations. We plan to publish this new definition shortly.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2026 to Question 114747 on Erasmus+ Programme, if she will place in the Library the guidance for higher education institutes to apply for the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education; and whether applications to the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education are to the (a) European Education and Culture Executive Agency or (b) UK managing authority.

The deadline for applying for the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) for institutions intending to participate in the 2027 funding call was 24 March 2026. The ECHE is awarded by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Applications are submitted directly to the EACEA via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal.The guidance for higher education institutions on applying for the ECHE is published by the European Commission and is publicly available on its Erasmus+ webpages.

With reference to the written statement, HCWS1456, on UK Government Response to Covid-19 Inquiry Module 2 Report, of 25 March 2026, what his planned timetable is for the proposed commencement of the socio-economic duty; and whether he plans to respond to the Equality law call for evidence, published on 7 April 2025.

This Government is committed to ensuring that everyone, no matter their background, can thrive. Therefore, as set out in our response to the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 2 report, we agree with the recommendation that commencement of the socio-economic duty could drive the routine consideration of the impact decisions might have on those most at risk in an emergency.The Government is giving careful consideration to responses to the equality law call for evidence as we consider next steps. We will publish a summary of responses and a Government response in due course on: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/equality-law-call-for-evidence. The socio-economic duty will require specified public bodies to actively consider how their strategic decisions might help to reduce the inequalities of outcome associated with socio-economic disadvantage. We are now taking forward work to make sure that commencement of the duty in England is as effective as possible.

With reference to the government transparency data, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for October to December 2025 for all departments, published on 31 March 2026, for what reason the OCO Global contract for DBT Investment Services requires the supplier to deliver 12+ wellbeing initiatives as a key performance indicator.

Under the 2020 Procurement Policy Note (since updated) departments must explicitly evaluate Social Value (SV) in most procurements above the relevant financial threshold, where it is related and proportionate to the contract. This is to ensure that public spending delivers wider economic, social and environmental benefits alongside the goods or services being purchased. The policy note also mandates an appropriate KPI. The Government’s SV Model at the time provided a menu of outcomes for selection aligned to government priorities. The outcome selected, focused on wellbeing of the workforce, seeking to address staff turnover challenges experienced in the predecessor contract.

With reference to the government transparency data, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for October to December 2025 for all departments, published on 31 March 2026, for what reasons the Food Standards Agency contract for the Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Establishments in England and Wales with Eville and Jones requires the supplier to ensure that at least 2% of companywide headcount progresses through internal opportunities.

People and resourcing are central to the successful delivery of the Food Standards Agency Delivered Official Controls contracts and the social value targets for these contracts are:recruitment and retention of Supplier Personnel in the Delivery of Meat Official Controls on behalf of the Food Standards Agency (FSA);promotion of an inclusive working environment that supports retention; andcompany culture that supports progression of Supplier Personnel. The purpose of these targets is to support the objective of lower attrition and higher experience levels of the workforce delivering these controls, ultimately improving the service that the FSA delivers for the public.