Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether it remains her Department's policy to meet the milestones set in the December 2024 Plan for Change.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister has set out the government’s priorities: Britain better off, Power to communities, Room to breathe, and Britain believing in itself again. These priorities build on the ambitions set out in the Plan for Change and the Government remains committed to delivering its manifesto.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if she will place in the Library a copy of the Civil Service People Group report entitled Launch of new model Policy and Guidance: Supporting Trans and Non-binary Employees, published on 21 May 2026.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
New model Gender Reassignment guidance has been issued to Civil Service departments for them to use as a template for their own departmental guidance. Internal HR policies and guidance are not published externally.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who are the members of the Participatory Methods Forum, and what are its terms of reference.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Participatory Methods Forum is an informal network of civil servants formed and attended by civil servants interested in public participation.
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 Cabinet Office headcount and payroll data for July 2026, published on 25 August 2026, whether future editions of that data will break down staff based in (a) the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet, (b) No10 North, (c) Cabinet Office and (d) OneGov Delivery Agency.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Future editions of our published workforce data will reflect the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet and OneGov Delivery Agency. This will show once our systems have fully updated.
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 7 September 2026, to Question 20940, on 10 Downing Street: Artworks, and with reference to paragraphs 233-234 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, if she will provide a relevant hyperlink to the Government Art Collection website that shows which artworks have been removed.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Information on artworks in Downing Street can be searched by location on the Government Art Collection website: https://artcollection.dcms.gov.uk/?s=&display=artworkonly&search_place=Downing+Street
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 news story, "David Dinsmore to leave role as Permanent Secretary for Government Communications", 26 August 2026, whether the Permanent Secretary will receive a severance payment under the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Details of any payments made will be published in the Annual Report and Accounts for Cabinet Office for the financial year in which the payment was made.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether she has declared to (a) the Cabinet Office Permanent Secretary and (b) the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Interests any financial contribution or donation in kind towards legal costs prior to being appointed as First Secretary of State.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the Ministerial Code, the personal information which ministers disclose to those who advise them is treated in confidence.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government Property Agency premises use (a) Hikvision or (b) Dahua CCTV cameras.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the security arrangements of government buildings and this information is withheld on national security grounds.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the press release, "No10 North open for business as the Government’s new situation room for making Britain better", of 23 July 2026, what consideration was made of consulting or undertaking a bidding process for the location for the No10 North; and why Manchester was chosen over other existing Cabinet Office or Government Property Agency regional office locations.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
No10 North exists to get power out of Westminster, into the hands of people at a local level. It is based in existing UK Government offices in central Manchester. Heron House was already occupied by the Government and was chosen taking into account a range of factors, including speed of set up and operational requirements.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many complaints concerning the Cabinet Office have been determined by the Chief Executive of the Civil Service Commission since March 2025.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Civil Service Commission is operationally independent of the Government.
Information about how it handles complaints can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-commission-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025/civil-service-commission-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025-html
The 2025-26 Annual Report and Accounts will be published in due course.