Written questions by Dewhirst.

Pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2025 to Question 86239 on Deputy Prime Minister: Admiralty House, what the value was of that invoice.

I refer the Honourable Member to the response to PQ 74185

Whether people mentioned in the Government return to the Humble Address were consulted on any (a) exclusions and (b) redactions in the material that was released prior to publication.

I refer you to the Oral Statement on the 23 February and the Government’s statement on 11 March which set out an update on the Government's process for complying with the Humble Address motion. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with urgency and transparency ensuring proper process is rigorously followed.

Further to the Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volume 1, HC1774-I, 11 March 2026, if he will publish internal guidance given to Ministers, special advisers and civil servants requesting their information for the Humble Address.

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 110810 on Cabinet Office: Email, how many John Pond emails have been archived.

The Cabinet Office holds within its records 118 emails which include the ‘John Pond’ email address. Cabinet Office records are transferred to The National Archives in the usual way, in accordance with Section 3 (4) of The Public Records Act, 1958.

Pursuant to his statement of 11 March 2026, Official Report, Column 364, on Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion, whether he has consulted lawyers in the Metropolitan Police.

As per the statement from the Metropolitan Police on 4th February 2026, they are asking us to refrain from publishing any relevant documents that could prejudice their investigation. We do not comment on ongoing police investigations. The Government stands ready to support the police in whatever way it can.

Pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2026 to Question 110810 on Cabinet Office: Email, when John Pond's archived emails will be publicly disclosed by National Archives.

The Cabinet Office holds within its records 118 emails which include the ‘John Pond’ email address. Cabinet Office records are transferred to The National Archives in the usual way, in accordance with Section 3 (4) of The Public Records Act, 1958.

Who had a role in the vetting process for Lord Mandelson.

I refer the Hon Member to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

With reference to his statement of 11 March 2026, Official Report, Column 364, on Lord Mandelson: Response to Humble Address Motion, for what reason he did not receive the request to approve the exit payment to Lord Mandelson.

I refer you to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Further to the Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volume 1, HC1774-I, 11 March 2026, whether the Intelligence and Security Committee had access to independent legal advice for the consideration of the redaction of the material.

The Government does not comment on the resourcing decisions taken by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC).

With reference to the Employment Appeal Tribunal of Mr P Easton v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2025], whether the Government People Group has provided guidance on dismissing a civil servant for dishonesty on their application.

Individual departments are responsible for their own discipline policies and guidance, which detail formal processes and procedures. These policies align with the Civil Service Code and the Civil Service Management Code, which set out the standards and behaviour expected from all employees. Departments collect information internally as required, in accordance with GDPR.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 105533, on Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, and to Question 105534, on Public Sector: Pay whether departments are required to report details of civil service leavers, and exit payments, to HM Treasury.

Departments are not required to report details of Civil Service leavers and exit payments under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme to HM Treasury. Departments publish information on exit payments and staffing numbers within their Annual Reports and Accounts. Departments are however required to report to HM Treasury the use of all special severance payments paid within the financial year in line with the published transparency requirements.

Pursuant to the answer of 1 July 2025, to Question 62993, on King Charles III: Artworks, whether (a) Royal Armouries Museum, (b) Royal Museums Greenwich, (c) Historic Royal Palaces, (d) Royal Parks and (e) Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, took up the offer from the Cabinet Office of a free portrait of the King to place in their offices.

Public authorities throughout the United Kingdom were given an opportunity to apply for a free portrait of His Majesty The King if they wanted to display it in their building. This was a voluntary scheme to mark the accession of His Majesty The King. The announcement was originally made on 1 April 2023 and the scheme was launched in November that year and closed for applications in August 2024. As it was a voluntary scheme, there was no obligation for public authorities to apply for a portrait. There may also be a variety of reasons as to why an institution did not order a portrait, such as suitable location or whether they had an existing portrait. It would therefore be inappropriate to release a simple list of individual authorities and institutions which did or did not order a free portrait. I refer the Honourable Member to the information published on GOV.UK on 28 November 2024 which provided a summary of the His Majesty The King Official Portrait Scheme, including the number of portraits provided and the total cost of the scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/conclusion-of-his-majesty-the-kings-free-portrait-scheme The HMK Portrait scheme was launched on 14th November 2023 and, including two extensions of scope, ran until 15th August 2024. A total of 20,565 orders were received, the cost of which, including delivery, was £2,710,705.50 with an average price of £131.81 per portrait.

Whether Senior Civil Servants who underperform against Ministerially set KPIs but subsequently win another Senior Civil Service role through fair and open competition will be permitted to take up that appointment.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon Member in the time available before Prorogation.

Pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2026, to Question 104623, on Cabinet Office: Proof of Identity, whether his department will be required to make savings to help fund the digital ID scheme.

The public consultation is now open and I encourage you and your constituents to respond.The design and delivery of digital ID are subject to the consultation outcomes. The feedback from the consultation will inform our final approach and enable a more accurate assessment of costs.As the Government has stated previously, any costs in this Spending Review period will be met within existing settlements.

Further to the UK-EU Summit - Common Understanding, 22 December 2025, whether he intends that the UK Government will make additional financial contributions to the European Union as a consequence of the provisions on the use of E-Gates.

No.

With reference to the Downing Street press release, "Appointment of Axel Heitmueller as Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit and Expert Adviser on Delivery", of 6 January 2026, what is (a) the time commitment expected of the role, (b) the expected end date of the appointment, (c) the monetary amount of his remuneration, and (d) his terms of reference.

Information about this role was published by the government on the new Direct Ministerial Appointments Announcements Portal: https://apply-for-public-appointment.service.gov.uk/direct-ministerial-appointments-announcements.

With reference to the National Audit Office report, Lessons learned: the government’s use of external consultants, HC: 1381, 21 November 2025, Figure 10, what specific data is collected on Government spending by (a) Oxygen Finance and (b) Jaggaer Spend.

Since 2010, Central Government departments publish expenditure above £25,000 on a monthly basis. Oxygen Finance aggregates this transparency data to provide reports on spending by a particular department or category. Jaggaer Spend relies on data generated by payments processed through public sector procurement systems, as opposed to published invoice data.

What the (a) name, (b) job title, (c) annual remuneration, (d) time commitment and (e) expected end date is for each direct ministerial appointment in the Cabinet Office, including those appointed by the Prime Minister, the Leader of the House of Commons and the Leader of the House of Lords.

Information related to Direct Ministerial Appointments can be found on gov.uk.

Whether the Public Sector Fraud Authority has issued recent guidance to local billing authorities on council tax (a) avoidance and (b) evasion in relation to the second homes council tax premium.

Guidance in relation to the payment and billing of council tax is developed and issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to local authorities. However, the National Fraud Initiative (NFI), as part of the Public Sector Fraud Authority (PSFA), works closely with local authorities to help them identify and prevent fraud. As part of this, the NFI is currently collaborating with local authorities to understand the fraud risks related to council tax second home premiums. The NFI will use that insight to inform options, such as a data matching pilot, to detect and prevent fraud in this area. This collaboration is also what has allowed the removal of fraudsters from social housing properties, ensuring they go to those families in genuine need, and cracking down on blue badge fraud - of which 22,000 fraudulent permits were cancelled in the last year alone.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81876 on Government Departments: Advertising, whether the (a) Guido Fawkes blog, (b) Sunday Sport and (c) Politico have been assessed under the SAFE framework.

No SAFE framework assessment has been conducted on Guido Fawkes, Sunday Sport or Politico.