Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025, to Question 93384 on Permanent Secretaries: Redundancy Pay, if he will publish that list.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
I refer to my answer for 93384. Payments are published in departmental Annual Reports and Accounts for the financial years in which they were made. These are available on GOV.UK
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on what leadership and promotion schemes run by the Civil Service are restricted to people (a) from ethnic minorities and (b) with other protected characteristics.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Promotion in the Civil Service is through fair and open competition and is overseen by the Civil Service Commission.
The Cabinet Office is responsible for centrally managed leadership development programmes for staff at G7 to DD (the Accelerated Development Schemes). Recruitment to these programmes is guided by the same principles. Participation in the Accelerated Development Schemes is not restricted to ethnicity or other protected characteristics.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93375 on Government Departments: Facilities Agreements, whether his department holds information on which departments have given agreement to allow paid time to be used for trade union activities.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office does not hold any central records on which departments have given agreement to allow paid time to be used for trade union activities.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90739 on Ministers: Public Appointments, what his Department's definition of a desk note is.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The guidance on making direct ministerial appointments that was published on 30 October replaced an internal desk note, with some expanded expectations on due diligence, conflicts of interest, and transparency. It was also expanded to provide greater clarity on direct ministerial appointments for a wider audience, including setting out publicly where such roles sit within the various routes into government.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to to the Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, published on 5 December 2025, if he will publish the proprietary guidance on paid publicity.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
For proprietary guidance on paid publicity, please refer to the following link:
https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/propriety-guidance/#Paid-publicity
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the Cabinet Office disclosure, Ref: FOI2025/18072, of 5 December 2025, on Ministerial Gifts.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Cabinet Office confirmed in its response to this FOI that it does not hold any information in scope of the request.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 91374 on List of Ministerial Responsibilities, for what reason the updated list has not been published.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
An updated list of ministerial responsibilities is still in production.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95647 on Government Department: Advertising, in what formats are data held for spending on public relations, marketing and advertising firms, other than social media firms.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Data is held under categories: Digital, Out of Home, Press, Radio and Television.
As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives.
The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency, efficacy, and value for the taxpayer.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 94699 on Spectator: Advertising, for what reason GB News has not received a SAFE framework approval.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Although the GB News website is not assessed, GB News is utilised for radio and television advertising.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has held discussions with his NATO counterparts on the EU's position on requiring SAFE payments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The UK has and will continue to hold a ‘NATO First’ approach. While it is disappointing that we were not able to positively conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK continues to step up on European security in the face of rising threats, including through Foreign and Defence Secretary engagements at NATO ministerial meetings in October and December. Our Security and Defence Partnership with the EU will complement and reinforce NATO’s role as the cornerstone of Euro Atlantic Security and our defence firms will continue to be a vital part of defence supply chains across the continent; in the last year alone, we have struck significant deals with Norway, Türkiye, and Germany.