Written questions by Wood.

What criteria her Department will use to determine which countries are on the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.

As set out in the National Security Act 2023, the Secretary of State may make a specification under the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) where they consider it is reasonably necessary to do so to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom.The Secretary of State will consider a broad range of UK interests when deciding if a country should be specified, and the nature and scope of any such specification. This will include how a specification would support the UK’s national security and the Government’s long-term, strategic approach to the country under consideration.

With reference to the Answer of 29 October 2024 to Question HL1634 on Royal and VIP Executive Committee, who represents (a) her Department, (b) the Cabinet Office and (c) the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures.

The terms of reference for the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) agreed in 2021 set out the Committee’s membership, which includes the Home Office, Cabinet Office, and Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.These departments are represented in the Committee by:A senior official in the Homeland Security Group who represents the Home Office.A senior official in the National Security Secretariat who represents the Cabinet Office.A senior official in the Protocol Directorate who represents the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

How much (a) his Department and (b) the Office for Equality and Opportunity has spent on lanyards since 4 July 2024; and what designs of lanyards have been purchased.

The Cabinet Office has purchased a total of 6,376 lanyards for £5,069.99 since 4 July 2024. This includes those bought for the aforementioned business units and Crown Commercial Service as an executive agency.On 6 April, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster announced the ban on unnecessary branded merchandise. Whilst it was agreed that some expenditure on merchandise items is necessary for operational purposes (security lanyards), all of these orders were made prior to the ban on unnecessary branded merchandise.In comparison, the Cabinet Office purchased a total of over 18,000 lanyards for £17,322.76 in the 12 months to July 2024.Staff will continue to be able to wear existing lanyards.

Whether the Director of Policy, Delivery and Innovation is a (a) special adviser, (b) direct ministerial appointment or (c) member of the Number 10 Political Office.

The Director of Policy, Delivery and Innovation is a special adviser. A list of special advisers is published as part of the Annual Report on Special Advisers by the Cabinet Office on gov.uk. The next report will be published in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 April 2025 to Question 41289 on Arms Length Bodies: Parliamentary Scrutiny, through which mechanisms (a) public corporations and (b) private companies owned by the Government are accountable to Parliament.

Detail on arrangements for Parliamentary accountability and governance of government companies and public corporations are set out in Annex 7.3 of Managing Public Money. The precise arrangements will vary from body to body, but will be set out in each body’s framework document, or equivalent, which describes the governance arrangements between the body and its sponsor government department. Framework documents are published on GOV.UK, along with guidance on their use and standard templates for each type of body: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/framework-documents-collection In general, accountability to Parliament will be via the ministers of a public corporation’s sponsor department and, if that body is subject to the rules set out in Managing Public Money, through the public corporation’s accounting officer or accountable person. Private companies owned by the Government, where they do not meet the classification standards for a public corporation, are instead classified by the ONS as part of central government. They are financially consolidated into their sponsor department and accountable to Parliament in the same manner as any other non-departmental public body. Ministers of a central government company’s sponsor department are responsible for the body in the house; and the most senior executive in the company as an Accounting Officer is directly accountable to Parliament via the Public Accounts Committee for the use of public funds. Public corporation status is formally determined by the Office for National Statistics on the basis of international economic statistical standards. Public corporations are generally self-funding and do not normally receive funding voted by Parliament. This category covers a significant range of bodies with differing levels of government control and not all bodies classified as public corporations are owned by the Government. They are subject to levels of control deemed appropriate by the relevant sponsor department, agreed via their framework document, and approved by the Treasury.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Government property was stolen during his disputed taxi journey from Italy to France.

No government property or material was stolen. The incident in question was reported to local Police authorities at the time and as far as we are aware is currently subject to an investigation, it would be inappropriate to discuss any matters regarding an ongoing case.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential risks to Ministers of undertaking personal foreign travel without a security detail; what guidance he has provided to Ministers on this matter; and whether he plans to update his Department's guidance.

It is the Government's long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on matters of protective security. To do so could compromise the integrity of those arrangements and affect the security of the individuals concerned.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 April 2025 to Question 43485 on Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Flags, whether his Department has had discussions with Westminster City Council on this matter.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has had no discussions with Westminster City Council on this matter.

What guidance (a) his Department and (b) the UK Resilience Academy have issued on the consideration of equality, diversity, inclusion and equity in relation to (i) civil contingencies, (ii) emergency planning and (iii) disaster relief.

The Government will soon publish the new Resilience Strategy which will set out our approach to building national resilience for all with particular focus on supporting our most vulnerable individuals and communities. In April, the Cabinet Office published updated Vulnerable People Guidance to strengthen the capability of emergency responders in developing local action plans identifying and supporting vulnerable individuals and groups in an emergency. Additionally, the Cabinet Office has developed a Risk Vulnerability Tool which incorporates data such as ethnicity, age, gender, disability to improve understanding of the scale and location of disproportionately impacted populations to enable targeted support before and during crises.The recently launched UK Resilience Academy will provide learning and leadership to government, local authorities, organisations, communities, and individuals. We will also use the National Exercising Programme to test how well our planning supports vulnerable people and communities in an emergency.We will also continue to ensure that our current, and future, resilience guidance, including the Prepare website on GOV.UK reflects the diverse needs of individuals, households and communities.

How many responses from his Department to Freedom of Information Act requests have detailed Government Procurement Card spending below £500 in the last two years.

To establish the number of FOI responses in the last two years which have detailed Government Procurement Card spending below £500 would require a review of all responses issued by the Cabinet Office during that period and can only be provided at disproportionate cost. In support of the Government’s Transparency agenda, the Cabinet Office publishes Government Procurement Card spend data over £500 on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-procurement-card-data--2

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Mauritius concerning the Chagos Archipelago including Diego Garcia, CP 1334, what estimate his Department has made of the monetary value of each payment in cash terms to be made in each year of the agreement.

As stated in the Explanatory Memorandum, the average annual cost to the UK during the initial 99-year period of the treaty is £101 million in 2025/2026 prices.

How many transactions referred to his Department under the National Security and Investment Act have involved private equity firms connected to state-backed sovereign wealth funds since 5 July 2024.

The Government publishes an annual report on the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021, with information about the transactions that it has been notified about and reviewed. The period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 will be covered in the next annual report, which will be published later this year. NSI Annual Reports do not present the number of acquisitions reviewed involving private equity firms connected to state-backed sovereign wealth funds as the Investment Security Unit does not routinely collect this information.

If he will publish the Government Campus training course materials entitled Equality Analysis: Making Scrutiny Relevant to Promoting Equality.

Equality Analysis: Making Scrutiny Relevant to Promoting Equality is delivered by a third party supplier, who owns the intellectual property. An outline for this course can be found on the prospectus online:https://prospectus.governmentcampus.co.uk/02-diversity-equality-and-inclusion/equality-analysis-making-scrutiny-relevant-to-promoting-equality/

Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2024, to Question 13438 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, if he will place in the Library a copy of the text on diversity included in civil service job adverts.

The current text was agreed by the previous administration and has not changed under the current government. The text included in Civil Service Job adverts is: Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.

Whether his Department's guidance on away days has been updated since the publication of the press release entitled Government-branded merchandise and away days banned on 6 April 2025.

The Cabinet Office has updated the guidance on the use of external venues for events and away days.

Whether the Lead Government Non-Executive Director is a non-executive member of the Cabinet Office Board.

The membership of the Cabinet Office Board will be established once the Non-Executive Board Member campaign has concluded.

Pursuant to the Answer of 12 May 2025, to Question 49766 on Cabinet Office: Staff, and the associated SCS data, for what reason there no salary data for the EU Relations Secretariat Senior Civil Service staff in the February 2025 dataset.

The February 2025 dataset is based on data as at 31 December 2024. At this point EU Relations Secretariat staff had commenced work in the Cabinet Office but had not completed their payroll transfer from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Hence they were represented in our structure but did not have pay information attached. Their salary data was included in the April publication and will be included in future publications.

What guidance has been issued by (a) his Department and (b) the Government Communications Service on whether (i) photographs and (ii) video footage produced by the Civil Service which is not (A) in the public domain and (B) subject to an open license can be use by political parties.

As per GCS Propriety guidance, content created by the civil service should always be used as part of official government communications before being repurposed by Special Advisers or Ministers for political purposes.

If he will make it his policy to ensure that all jobs advertised on the Civil Service Jobs website are publicly advertised.

The Civil Service Jobs website is fully accessible to the public. The website is used to advertise roles available to applicants who are external to the Civil Service, though departments may advertise on other websites. The website may also be used to advertise roles for inter- and intra-departmental moves, which enables an appropriate method of talent management and bears in mind the downward pressure on the cost of the Civil Service.

If he will make an assessment of the statistical validity of ethnicity pay reporting in small sample sizes, in the context of the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

It is important that ethnicity pay gap reporting by employers is accurate and statistically valid. The public consultation on mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting seeks views on the proposed approach, including questions about data collection, reporting and minimum sample size. The proposed minimum of 10 employees is intended to protect the privacy of employees and to produce statistically robust data. We are also engaging with a wide range of organisations and specialists, including employers who are already reporting, to understand the challenges of data collection. The findings from the consultation will inform the development of measures in the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.