Written questions by Wood.

If he will publish an updated list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries.

A list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries was published by the Cabinet Office in November 2025 on gov.uk and is available here. It will be updated periodically.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 82341 on Identity Cards: Digital Technology, whether officials from (a) his Department and (b) 10 Downing Street have had discussions with (i) Larry Ellison and (ii) Oracle on Digital ID Cards.

We are not talking to Larry Ellison or Oracle about digital ID. Throughout the development of the new digital ID, the Government will work closely with expert stakeholders, including civil society groups, technology companies and industry bodies to make it as effective and inclusive as possible. The Digital ID will be designed, built and run by government digital teams. Any additional specialist external services that may be needed to support delivery will be subject to the usual competitive processes.

Whether he plans to increase Ministerial pay in the next four years.

The entitlement of government ministers to receive a salary is set out in the Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975. Ministerial salaries currently remain frozen. In addition, the government has introduced reforms to ministerial severance pay. Ministers will be expected to forgo their severance pay if they serve in office for fewer than six months, or if they leave office following a serious breach of the Ministerial Code.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 71198 on Unherd: Advertising, whether the SAFE framework permits government advertising on the Spectator website.

Following assessment under the SAFE Framework, government advertising is permitted on spectator.co.uk.

Whether Irish citizens in Northern Ireland will be required to have digital ID cards.

There will be no requirements for Irish citizens, or UK citizens, to have a digital ID. We will design this system to ensure everyone who has a right to live and work in any part of the UK can do so more easily and securely, ensuring our commitments in the Good Friday Agreement and the Common Travel Area are respected.

Whether the findings of the One Big Thing 2024 evaluation will be compared with the Civil Service People Survey results in (a) 2024 and (2025) to test whether any change in (i) culture and (ii) innovation capability has been sustained.

As set out in the Evaluating One Big Thing 2024 report, published on GOV.UK, the 2024 and 2025 People Survey findings will be compared to assess whether there has been sustained culture change around innovation.

With reference to footnotes 25 and 26 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC 1372, published on 23 October 2025, for what reason the current Cabinet Secretary has a lower salary than the previous Cabinet Secretary.

It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individuals. Details of any individual’s pay are published in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts.

How his Department's lieutenancy policy team engages with the Association of Lord-Lieutenants; and whether any (a) formal agreement and (b) memorandum of understanding exists between them.

There is no formal agreement or memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Cabinet Office Lieutenancy Team and the Association of Lord-Lieutenants. The Association operates on an informal, voluntary basis, and its relationship with government is conducted through established liaison channels.

Pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82672 on 9 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, for what reason the room was not politically neutral.

A one-off refresh of the facility was undertaken in December 2024. This was a decorative refresh, and work was undertaken to re-paint the backdrop to blend with existing wood panelling, install lighting, re-cover fabric panels and replace carpet tiles. This has restored the room back to its original politically neutral state.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 September 2025 to Question 76050 on Lobbying: Official Hospitality, whether the donation in kind of (a) a venue and (b) hospitality from a lobbying firm hosting a Departmental reception should be declared by the Department in their annual accounts; and whether a proportion should be declared by a Minister in their monthly transparency return on gov.uk.

Guidance on what should be published in a department's Annual Reports and Accounts is published by HM Treasury in the Government Financial Reporting Manual. Guidance on what should be declared by a Minister in their monthly gifts and hospitality transparency return is published by the Cabinet Office. Both documents are available on GOV.UK.

Whether due diligence undertaken by his Department for the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Ambassador considered (a) Lord Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and (b) Global Counsel’s work in China.

Due diligence was undertaken prior to the appointment of the former Ambassador to the United States, and was part of an established process to collate relevant information as part of the identification and selection of the appointee. I refer the Hon. Member to the Cabinet Secretary’s letter of 30 October 2025 to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which sets out the process and information contained in the due diligence report: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50019/documents/269409/default/

With reference to the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1372, published on 23 October 2025, and the HMT Guidance on Public Sector Exit Payments: Use of Special Severance Payments, updated on 28 July 2025, on what dates the severance payments to (a) Simon Case and (b) Alex Chisholm were approved by (i) the Accounting Officer and (ii) Cabinet Office Ministers, under the prevailing guidance in force at the time.

The payments reported in the CO annual report (page 94) were approved on the following dates: Alex Chisholm - payment was approved by the Cabinet Secretary on 7 February 2024 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 22 February 2024.Simon Case - payment was approved by the CO Permanent Secretary on 12 March 2025 and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 21 March 2025.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82339 on Ministers: Official Cars, whether departments are invoiced (a) by his Department for the use of Ministerial cars and (b) for the use of cars by officials; whether his Department invoices itself for car use; and whether invoicing is done by (i) month, (ii) quarter and (iii) year.

The Government Car Service (GCS) issues monthly invoices to each department for the use of its vehicles and drivers. Departments are responsible for determining the appropriate use of these vehicles, whether for Ministers or senior officials. Separate invoicing procedures are not applied for Ministers and officials. GCS does not directly invoice the Cabinet Office for its services. These transactions are managed through internal budget transfers on a monthly basis.

How long it takes on average for a new member of UK Security Vetting staff to become fully accredited to handle (a) Counter Terrorist Check and Security Check and (b) Developed Vetting cases.

The training, learning and development needs of vetting officials within United Kingdom Security Vetting (UKSV) is kept under regular review, in line with changes in policy, legislation or the external environment. This approach allows UKSV to maximise skills and meet resourcing requirements whilst ensuring that HMG risk appetite is underpinned by a National Security Vetting provision that is both rigorous and assured. In line with the practice followed by successive administrations, the Government does not otherwise comment on security matters.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 82668 on New Media Unit: Marketing, how the £13.2 million is allocated by (a) topic and (b) programme.

This allocation has enabled multiple campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Whether the Future of Work Committee has (a) met and (b) carried out business via correspondence since 5 September 2025.

It is a long established precedent that the frequency and business of Cabinet Committee meetings is not usually publicly disclosed.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81327 on Government Departments: Advertising, on which (a) programmes and (b) topics his Department used each contractor.

As with any communication campaign approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with audiences in alignment with the government's priorities. Social media has been utilised on campaigns of varying scale and reach, supporting missions communications and government priorities.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 October 2025 to Question 81876 on Government Departments: Advertising, which publications have been assessed as appropriate for government advertising under the SAFE framework.

There are currently no plans to publish the full list of publications assessed under the SAFE framework.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 70512 on Government Hospitality: Wines, what the cost of each transaction from Berry Bros was since 4 July 2025; and which items were purchased.

As has been the case under successive administrations, a detailed breakdown of each item in a purchase is not routinely published. Details of Government Procurement Card spending over £500 is published on gov.uk. In March this year, the Government took action to cancel government procurement cards and this is working. In the first 4 months after introducing these changes, spend on GPCs has decreased by £25m (30%) across government compared with the previous 4 months.

If he will publish the 2025 Honours Committee handbook.

As noted in our answer to PQ 43222, the Honours Committee handbook is a document used to induct newly appointed independent chairs and committee members to the honours system and the committee process. This document is intended for internal use only. More information on these can be found on gov.uk.