Every parliamentary written question tabled by Mike Wood this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 761–780 of 2,405 · this parliament
Whether he plans to ask the Government Communication Service to amend its 2025 Branding Guidelines in relation to advice on Devolved Nations.
An immediate update is not scheduled. When the routine review and update is next conducted, all applicable sections could be subject to revision.
Innovation and Technology, whether she has issued guidance to departments on publishing regular lists of Areas of Research Interest.
The Government Office for Science manages the guidance for departments on the development, publication and use of Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). The guidance sets out best practice for publishing ARIs and is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/writing-and-using-areas-of-research-interest/writing-and-using-areas-of-research-interest.
What guidance the Propriety and Ethics Team has issued to Departments on accepting hospitality from consultant lobbyist firms.
The Ministerial Code sets out the principles ministers must consider when deciding whether to accept hospitality.
What steps he is taking to improve the delivery confidence assessment by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority of the Falcon programme.
The Cabinet Office continues to receive support from the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority for the Falcon Programme. All key recommendations from the review have been addressed including:Appointing a new Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) supported by an experienced Programme Director.Additional specialist resources have been deployed including an experienced programme planner and a comprehensive plan has been produced.
Pursuant to the answer of 7 January 2025 to Question 21399 on Cabinet Office: Staff, how many headcount staff work in the EU Relations Secretariat as of 20 February 2026; and how many are EU citizens.
As of February 2026, there are around 80 members of staff in the EU Relations Secretariat. A detailed breakdown for the structure for the European Relations Secretariat is available as part of the Cabinet Office organogram of Staff Roles & Salaries on gov.uk. Data is not held regarding the citizenships of staff members, however, data on the wider Civil Service, including on nationality, is published regularly on gov.uk.
With reference to the publication, Expenditure Over £25,000 - December 2025 (Cabinet Office Core), of 29 January 2026, what the purpose was of the £40 million payment to Cabinet Office entitled ROCE Dividend.
The £40 million relates to the dividend that the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) pays to the Cabinet Office (CO) as detailed in CCS's Annual Report and Accounts.
What steps he is taking to improve the delivery confidence assessment by the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority of the Transforming Public Procurement programme.
The delivery confidence assessment of the Transforming Public Procurement programme is rated “Green”, which demonstrates high confidence for delivery already. Information on delivery confidence assessments is available in the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority’s Annual Report for 2024-25 which is published on gov.uk.
With reference to the publication, Expenditure Over £25,000 - December 2025 (Cabinet Office Core), of 29 January 2026, what the purpose was of the payments to Accenture UK Ltd under the heading GCS New Media Unit Prog.
Unlimited was acquired by Accenture. Accenture is now the agency responsible for delivering comprehensive, end-to-end campaign solutions for public service campaigns.
With reference to the Contractfinder contract, Expert report - Resolution Foundation - Smith / Brewer, published 25 November 2025, ref: C19SF08RF25, what the terms of reference are for the expert report for the Inquiry.
The requirements for the Expert report - Resolution Foundation - Smith / Brewer contract (ref: C19SF08RF25) can be found at Annex 2 – Specification of the redacted Short Form Contract attached to the Contracts Finder notice. Annex 2 states the requirements as being an independent and expert opinion on...Labour Market Inequality and the Welfare System, and Macroeconomic Policy and Public Finances and the contract involves the analysis and input of 2 expert witnesses.
With reference to the Contractfinder contract, Expert report - Resolution Foundation - Smith / Brewer, published 25 November 2025, ref: C19SF08RF25, whether the Resolution Foundation was selected via competitive tendering.
The Expert report - Resolution Foundation - Smith / Brewer contract (ref: C19SF08RF25) was not procured via competitive tendering and instead via a below threshold direct award. The direct award was made in accordance with the Procurement Rules and associated policies.
Whether the Public Inquiry Response Unit is involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026.
Staff from across the Cabinet Office including but not limited to the Public Inquiry Response Unit and the Propriety and Constitution Group are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary.
Whether the Proprietary and Constitution Group is involved in ensuring compliance with the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026.
Staff from across the Cabinet Office including but not limited to the Public Inquiry Response Unit and the Propriety and Constitution Group are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary.
With reference to the Cabinet Office contractfinder publication, Provision of Equalities Case Studies, 14 November 2025, Ref: CCZZ25A11, what the terms of reference are of the social research being commissioned; and what the timetable is for the publication of that social research.
This Government is committed to breaking the link between background and success and ending the ceiling on the ambitions of people in Britain. The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) is working on delivering the Government’s Plan for Change, helping to ensure that equality issues are actively considered in all five missions. This project will feed into resources to help equip policy makers across government departments working on the Opportunity Mission with an understanding of how people’s lives are impacted by their personal characteristics, to support robust policy development and in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Whether guidance has been issued to Ministers and officials in relation to messages that were subject to automatic deletion timers and existed at the time the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026 was passed but have since expired.
I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and the Oral Statement on the 23rd February, in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, which set out an update on the Government's process and that Departments have been instructed to retain material that may be relevant to the motion.
If he will publish a register of senior civil servants' secondary paid employment for 2024 to 2025.
Departments are responsible for publishing the detail of any paid or otherwise remunerated outside employment, held by members of their SCS, annually.
With reference to the speech, Move fast. Fix things, delivered on 20 January 2026 by the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, what proportion of the Senior Civil Service had (a) primary career experience in policy roles, (b) primary career experience in operational delivery roles and (c) prior private sector experience; and what the equivalent figures were in each of the previous five years as of 1 January 2026.
We are unable to provide a response as this information is not captured centrally at the application stage.
Pursuant to the answer of 21 January 2026 to Question 105244 on Senior Civil Service: Training, if he will publish the training material for the content on inclusion in leadership.
Our leadership development materials use internal case studies and sensitive organisational data to address specific system-wide challenges. To protect the privacy of this information and integrity, we do not publish these materials externally. We do, however, make the programme’s key themes and learning objectives available on the webpage of Accelerated Development Schemes on GOV.UK.
What changes are planned to the Success Profiles framework for Senior Civil Service appointments following his speech of 20 January 2026; and what specific competencies will be added, removed or reweighted.
Our continuing goal is to make recruitment simpler, faster, more efficient and more effective across the Civil Service. We are currently undertaking a review of the Success Profiles framework, considering what the right attributes are to select civil servants with the skills, experience and other attributes that the Civil Service needs. As announced in the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister’s 20 January speech, our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) will place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector skills and experience. This will be reflected in the criteria used to select Senior Civil Servants and the ongoing review.
Pursuant to the answer of 16 January 2026 to Question 104159 on Public Bodies: Facilities Agreement, whether his Department holds a list of the public sector organisations who were (a) contacted and (b) reminded to provide facility time data in (i) 2024-25 and (ii) 2023-24.
The Cabinet Office does not hold the requested information.
Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 93743 Cabinet Office: Social Media, whether this includes spending by the Prime Minister's Office.
The figures provided in the answer referenced did not include the Prime Minister’s Office.