Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for Developed Vetting renewals.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the responses given on 27 November 2025 to PQs 93373 and 92997.
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 ensure that direct ministerial appointments publish a declaration of interests on gov.uk.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
It is the responsibility of individual sponsor departments to publish details of the direct ministerial appointments that they make, including their terms of reference. Information about managing conflicts of interest and the public announcements that should be made for Direct Ministerial Appointments is set out in the Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment they have made of the impact of vetting delays on (a) recruitment and (b) project delivery across government departments and national security agencies.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Since April 2024, United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) has consistently met its agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPI), across each product type.
With the appropriate Ministerial oversight, UKSV works closely with the departments and decision-making authorities they serve to understand their forecasted demand for the provision of vetting services.
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 23 September 2025 to Question 75722 on Government Departments: Advertising, if he will publish equivalent data for spending on (a) hard copy advertising, (b) public relations and (c) marketing.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The requested information is not held centrally or in the specific categories outlined in the question.
Please refer to departmental transparency data.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people are employed by UK Security Vetting by (a) permanent civil servants, (b) fixed-term appointees and (c) contingent labour.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) delivers National Security Vetting services to departments and agencies across government, police and industry. UKSV’s workforce planning is driven by the demand forecasting and operational employment requirements of these departments and agencies. The resourcing of UKSV includes a diverse range of staffing contracts to meet forecast demand.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what is the most recent estimate of (a) the headcount size of the Government Communication Service and (b) staff who work in communications functions in the Civil Service who are not GCS.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to the response provided for PQ 92419 for the headcount size of the Government Communication Service.
Information regarding Civil Service staff working in communications functions who are not part of the Government Communication Service is not held centrally.
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 answer of 28 October 2025 to Question HL10808 on Official Residences, how long the other residences have been unoccupied.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are two additional flats in Admiralty House which can be allocated to ministers as official residences at the Prime Minister’s discretion. Neither flat has been allocated to a minister under the current administration.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Office for National Statistics has made an assessment of the adequacy of GDP deflation forecasts.
Answered by Josh Simons - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of the 1st of December is attached.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the due diligence on the appointment of special adviser, Tim Allan, included the work of his company, Portland, for the Russian Government.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There is a rigorous process to ensure any potential conflicts of interest are captured, and have appropriate mitigations in place to reflect specific circumstances. Ahead of his appointment, the new Executive Director of Communications in 10 Downing Street fully complied with this process.
This is set out in the Special Adviser Code of Conduct and lists of Special Adviser interests are published annually.
Mr Allan is not a shareholder in Portland, and hasn’t been since 2019, and has no interest in it.
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 17 November 2025 to Question 88705, on the Spectator: Advertising, whether the SAFE framework permits government advertising on the (a) Daily Express, (b) GB News and (c) the Morning Star.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Following assessment under the SAFE Framework, government advertising is permitted on The Daily Express (now express.co.uk).
No SAFE framework assessment has been conducted on GB News or the Morning Star.