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 his renegotiation of EU agreements, what is his policy on (a) asymmetric or (b) symmetric early termination payments, payable (i) by the United Kingdom if it terminates early and (ii) by the European Union if they terminate early.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The details of any agreements, including specific clauses, are subject to ongoing negotiations with the EU. We will not provide a running commentary on the progress of those negotiations, although I would note termination provisions are routine in international agreements.
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 5 January 2025 to Question 100331 on Ministers: Official Cars, how many civil servants have access to an official car from the Government Car Service.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer on 14 January 2026 (PQ 103782).
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the deadline for applications for the appointment of the Chair of Ofcom was set for either (a) 18 December 2025 or (b) 5 January 2026.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The advert for applications was launched on 17 November 2025, with a deadline of 18 December 2025. On 17 December, the application deadline was extended until 5 January 2026, and the advert on gov.uk was amended to reflect this change.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government provides funding to Jean Monnet activities.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Jean Monnet Actions are funded from a dedicated share of the Erasmus+ budget. When the UK associates to Erasmus+, it will contribute to the overall programme budget.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the new proposed dynamic alignment with the EU will ban the sale of oatcakes in the UK due to new EU agricultural standards.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The oats sector plays a vital role in UK agriculture, particularly in Scotland, and we fully recognise the importance of this issue for those businesses.
As announced at the UK-EU Leaders' Summit in May 2025, the UK and EU have agreed to work towards a common SPS Area. We have been clear that in some areas we will need to account for conditions specific to Great Britain; and on the importance of ensuring that the SPS Agreement delivers positive outcomes for businesses across the UK, while safeguarding our high standards.
Officials in Defra are actively engaging with industry representatives on this important issue, as well as with the Scottish Government.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish a list of programmes and schemes that require the UK to provide payments to the EU and are not included in the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of 2020.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
All UK participation in EU programmes takes place under the framework of Part V of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The UK has participated in two EU programmes since 2023, the Horizon Europe research and development programme and Copernicus earth observation programme. The UK will also participate in the Erasmus+ education, youth and sport programme in 2027. Payments are published by the responsible department in its Annual Report and Accounts.
The UK also fulfils obligations related to outstanding EU commitments from the UK’s participation in the EU budget before 31 January 2020, as agreed under the Withdrawal Agreement. This is paid by HM Treasury, and details of payments can be found in HM Treasury's EU Finances Statement, published annually.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what role the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) has in monitoring Bloom Procurement Services Ltd’s compliance with the NEPRO3 framework; and whether CCS is required to audit the fees and margins applied by Procurement Services Ltd on behalf of client departments.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The NEPRO3 framework is not managed or administered by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS).
CCS does not monitor the compliance of Bloom Procurement Services Ltd with the NEPRO3 framework, and it does not have a role in auditing any fees or margins that may be applied by Bloom Procurement Services Ltd to departments.
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 October 2025, to Question 82673 on Government Departments: Social Media, how much has been spent on social influencers through (a) OmniGov and (b) Pablo Unlimited since July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Spend on influencer costs (exclusive of agency fees) since July 2024 to the date of this PQ is £365,331. This figure is reflective of currency conversion rates at the time of the request.
Please note, some data has been withheld due to commercial and wider sensitivities.
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 April 2025 to Question 42994 on Government Departments: Aviation, whether helicopter travel under the Central Cabinet Office Corporate Travel Agency Contract has been commissioned since April 2025.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Ministerial travel is carefully considered to ensure both efficiency and the interests of the taxpayer are prioritised.
While the Cabinet Office can facilitate helicopter travel in exceptional circumstances, routine helicopter journeys for ministers are no longer carried out under this Government.
Helicopter travel has been commissioned under the Cabinet Office Central Travel Contract on five occasions since April 2025. Only one of these flights was for a government minister.
24 Prime Ministerial helicopter tasks were facilitated under the Command Support Air Transport Fleet between 01 February 2021 and 04 September 2023.
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 the Government's correspondence entitled Letter from the Prime Minister on government transparency and open data, published on 14 December 2017, whether the approach set out in the letter is Government policy.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government's approach to transparency and open data is set out on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/how-to-publish-central-government-transparency-data.