Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40911 on Government Departments: Social Media, if he will update the guidance to require Ministers to declare (a) hospitality and (b) other meetings with senior media executives from (i) X, (ii) Meta and (iii) Tiktok.

I refer the Hon Member to my previous answers [41868 and 40911]. Details of ministers’ official meetings with all external individuals and organisations are published on a quarterly basis.The Cabinet Office also publishes a monthly register of all gifts and hospitality received by ministers in a ministerial capacity. There are no current plans to include representatives of social media companies under the guidance for senior media figures.

Whether there is a framework agreement in place for the Infected Blood Compensation Authority.

The Cabinet Office published the Infected Blood Compensation Authority Framework Document on 10 March 2025. The document is publicly available on gov.uk, and can be found here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67cecb66df94702964916071/IBCA_Framework_Document.pdf.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2025 to Question 39577 on Civil Servants: Recruitment, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the succession select tool on external recruitment to senior civil service roles.

Succession Select is an internal search tool used to support talent management within the existing Senior Civil Service (SCS) digital workforce. It is not used as part of the recruitment process, nor does it influence external appointment decisions. Accordingly, the Government has not made a formal assessment of its impact on external recruitment.

Innovation and Technology, whether he plans to publish a response to the Independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender, published on 19 March 2025; and whether he plans to issue guidance to Departments on implementing the recommendations in the report.

The government has now published the independent review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender commissioned by the previous government.Individual departments are considering the findings in light of ongoing policy work in this area.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 39120 on 10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance, what the budget is for the works; whether the works (a) required planning permission and (b) are structural; and what the nature of the repair works is other than to the external window frames.

A repair project is underway to preserve the integrity of this Grade 1 listed building. Maintenance of the roof will be carried out alongside repair of exterior window frames. This followed a survey in December 2023 which indicated that work must be completed for safety reasons, with the work commencing in January 2024. The repairs are not structural and did not require planning permission. The cost of these works will be published in due course in Cabinet Office transparency returns.

Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2025 to Question 32047 on Space Debris, what the nature is of the regulatory reform that will help mitigate the risks from space debris.

Following the May 2024 Space Regulatory Review, the new government is implementing a package of space regulatory reforms to achieve seven outcomes, including ensuring a safe, secure and sustainable space environment. Government is undertaking research into the impacts of several technical options to help mitigate the risks from space debris, such as reducing post-mission disposal timelines. Government is also supporting the development of independent British standards for space sustainability and has conducted an innovative regulatory sandbox for rendezvous and proximity operations to provide greater clarity and certainty in enabling regulation for future missions which could de-orbit debris.

If he will publish the (a) framework agreements and (b) memorandums of understanding between his Department and (i) the UK Statistics Authority and (ii) Office for National Statistics on (A) how Parliamentary Questions about those organisations should be answered and (B) other matters.

The 2020 MoU between Cabinet Office and the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) is published on gov.uk (here). The Office for National Statistics is part of UKSA and does not have its own MoU. There is no separate Framework Agreement. A revised MoU is due to be published in 2025.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on (a) the (i) determination and (ii) authorisation of ex officio membership of pay review bodies, (b) whether people can sit on multiple pay review bodies and (c) other relevant matters on ex officio membership of pay review bodies.

The Cabinet Office does not hold any guidance in relation to those appointed to a pay review body as an ex-officio member. The Senior Salaries Review Body (SSRB) is the only pay review body with ex-officio members. All members of pay review bodies are public appointments, who adhere to the governance code sent out by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

How many staff were signed off absent due to stress in his Department in the most recent week for which data is available.

Information about sickness absence in the Cabinet Office is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024/civil-service-sickness-absence-2024-report#by-organisation

How much his Department has spent on recruitment consultants for public appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments since 4 July 2024; and on which firms.

Since 4 July 2024, the Cabinet Office has spent £17,600 on recruitment consultants for public appointments regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. This was paid to Hays Recruitment Agency to retain their services for the recruitment of a Judicial Member to the Senior Salaries Review Body. The appointment of Hays Recruitment Agency was agreed by a Minister of the previous administration in March 2024, in accordance with the Governance Code on Public Appointments. The contract concluded in October 2024, following the appointment of a new Judicial Member.

Pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40911 on Government Departments: Social Media, if he will make it his policy to update the guidance for (a) special advisers and (b) senior officials to define senior media executives as those from (i) X, (ii) Meta and (iii) Tiktok.

I refer the honourable member to the answer provided on 31 March in response to Question 40911.

What the headcount of the civil service was in (a) June 2024 and (b) the latest period for which data is available.

Headline civil service employment statistics on both an headcount and full-time equivalent basis (FTE) are published quarterly by Office for National Statistics (ONS) as part of their Public Sector Employment Statistics release and are available at the following web address: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/publicsectorpersonnel/bulletins/publicsectoremployment/previousreleases These statistics show that as at June 2024 civil service headcount stood at 546,000. The latest figures available are as at December 2024 where headcount was 548,000.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40573 on Alex Chisholm, for what reasons the final advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, dated 30 October 2024, was not published before 12 March 2025.

The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments is operationally independent of government and is responsible for publishing its advice on applications once the appointment or employment has been taken up or announced by the applicant. In this case, the Committee has publicly stated that the timing of the publication of the advice on GOV.UK was impacted by staffing issues within the Secretariat.

Whether his Department has issued guidance to other Departments on reducing spending on leadership training.

The Cabinet Office has not issued any guidance to departments about reducing spending on leadership training. Good leadership and management skills will be needed to deliver the Plan for Change and realise the government’s ambition to reshape the state. A cross-Civil Service leadership and management curriculum is being developed to support the standards expected for leadership and management. We are working to ensure this is delivered in the most impactful and cost effective way.

Pursuant to the Answer of 31 March 2025 to Question 40580 on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, whether he plans to revoke the The Trade Union (Facility Time Publication Requirements) Regulations 2017 following the passage of the Employment Rights Bill.

The Trade Union Facility Time Publication Requirements Regulations 2017 will be automatically revoked when section 13 of the Trade Union Act 2016 is repealed pursuant to clause 63 of the Government’s Employment Rights Bill, as they were made under powers included in that section.

Media and Sport, for what reason the Imperial War Museum has decided to close the exhibition of VC and GC medals in the Lord Ashcroft Gallery; and whether Ministers were consulted.

Victoria and George Crosses tell stories of bravery and courage which form an important part of our national history. The Lord Ashcroft Gallery, which houses Lord Ashcroft’s personal collection of these medals along with others belonging to the Imperial War Museum and other private owners, has been well-loved since its creation in 2010.I was informed of the decision to close the Gallery shortly before it was made public. Ministers were not consulted on the decision as national museums are operationally and curatorially independent from the Government. Since that announcement, I have spoken with both the Museum’s leadership and with Lord Ashcroft himself. I continue to support Lord Ashcroft to try and find a new permanent home for his remarkable collection.The Museum has made the decision to use the space for a new gallery focusing on conflict since the Second World War. It is common practice for museums to update their galleries and displays periodically in order to make the most of the wide range of collection items they hold, and to explore new ways of communicating vital histories to the public.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question HL4540 on Local Government: Equality, whether (a) the Cabinet Office, (b) the Office for Women and Equality and (c) the Equality and Human Rights Commission consider that being gender fluid or gender neutral constitutes the protected characteristic of gender reassignment.

The Equality Act defines the protected characteristic of gender reassignment as a person that is proposing to undergo, is undergoing or has undergone a process (or part of a process) for the purpose of gender reassignment.

With reference to the consultation document on ethnic and disability pay gap reporting, published on 18 March 2025, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of including a question to consultation respondents on the costs to employers of the new measures.

The public consultation seeks views on the proposed approach to mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting in order to inform the drafting of the legislation.We are separately engaging with a wide range of organisations, including employers, and gathering evidence in a more systematic manner on the likely costs and benefits of the proposed reporting requirements. This work will inform the impact assessment that will be published alongside the draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

With reference to the Prime Ministers' press release entitled, Regulator axed as red tape is slashed to boost growth, published on 11 March 2025, whether (a) services and (b) offices are shared between the Payment Services Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority.

The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Government will consult on the detail of this proposal in the summer and legislate as soon as possible. These questions are matters for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which is independent from Government. The FCA will respond to the Honourable Member by letter, and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House of Commons.

Whether the abolition of NHS England will require (a) primary legislation, (b) secondary legislation and (c) no legislation.

Ministers and senior Department officials will work with the new executive team at the top of NHS England, led by Sir Jim Mackey, to jointly lead this transformation.Primary legislation will be required, and we intend to bring this forward when Parliamentary time allows.