Written questions by Wood.

If he will take steps to (a) speed up the handling of Freedom of Information requests across Government and (b) reduce the number of refusals to those requests.

FOI compliance statistics for all government departments are published on a quarterly basis on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics. Between July-September 2024, across all departments, 90% of requests were responded to in time (up from 88% in Q3 2023). The outcomes of resolvable requests vary between departments and reflect the protections the legislation provides for sensitive information.

How many transactions have been voluntary notified to his Department under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act since 5 July 2024.

The Government publishes information on the operation of the National Security and Investment Act in the NSIA Annual Report. The most recent report, covering the 2023/24 reporting period, can be found on GOV.UK. The government received 120 voluntary notifications in this period.Data on the number of voluntary notifications received between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025, broken down by month, will be published in the next Annual Report later this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2025 to Question 19414 on Non-departmental public bodies, how many arm's length bodies other than non-departmental public bodies the Government has (a) announced it will open, (b) opened, (c) announced it will close, and (d) closed since 4 July 2024.

As said in my previous answer of 8 January 2025, the Cabinet Office maintains records and oversight of formally established Arm’s Length Bodies. No ALBs have been formally established since 4 July 2024. Individual departments are responsible for any proposals to open or close ALBs.

Pursuant to the Answer of 13 February 2025 to Question 29023 on Special Advisers: Industrial Disputes, whether he has issued guidance to special advisers on whether they may undertake industrial action with special advisers from other Departments.

The Cabinet Office has not issued any such guidance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025, to Question 30682, on Honours, for what reasons the three Honours campaigns were closed and then later re-opened; and how many of the subsequently-successful candidates were individuals who only applied after the campaigns were re-opened.

In reference to my response to question 14712, the three campaigns were closed and reopened to allow for the widest range of applications. All three campaigns are still in progress, so there are at present no successful candidates.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 February 2025 to Question 28582 on Government Departments: Directors, whether non-executive directors who are consultant lobbyists are required to recuse themselves on all matters relating to their lobbying clients.

Non-Executive Directors who are consultant lobbyists are required to recuse themselves on all matters relating to their lobbying clients. Non-Executives are required to recuse themselves from any and all matters relating to any conflict of interest.

Pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024, to Question 6057, on Prime Minister's Office: Vacancies, what proportion of external recruitment competitions in 10 Downing Street resulted in the selection of a successful candidate who was already (a) in post temporarily and (b) working in 10 Downing Street since 4 July 2024.

Due to the small number of individuals in scope, release of this information would disclose personal data of the Civil Servants involved.

How many days’ notice the House of Lords Appointments Commission was given to clear and undertake due diligence in relation to the appointment of Baroness Gustafsson of Chesterton.

The House of Lords Appointment Commission vets all nominations for life peerages to ensure the highest standards of propriety. The process for vetting nominations of those who are intended to serve as Ministers is the same as the process for all other nominations for life peerages. While the Government does not comment on individual appointments, it is sometimes the case that the nomination and vetting process of ministerial appointments to the House of Lords is completed on an expedited timeline.

What information the Government Communications Service holds on spending on (a) external marketing, (b) external public relations and (c) other forms of external communications by (i) his and (ii) other Departments.

All departments and ALBs are responsible for their own business planning process. During this process, they will decide their allocation of advertising, marketing, and communications (AMC) spending. If their spend breaches the advertising, marketing and communications spending control threshold (£100,000), they then engage with our AMC team within the Government Communications Service (GCS).

With reference to his Department's guidance entitled The Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm’s-Length Bodies, whether the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team assessed Skills England against the requirement that the creation of a new ALB should only be considered as a last resort; whether the department provided evidence that alternative delivery models such as enhancing an existing body, executive agency, or departmental function were considered; and which of the three tests outlined in chapter 2 of that guidance it overcame.

The Department for Education is currently working through the approval process to establish Skills England as an Arm’s Length Body. The completion of business cases as part of this process considers viable delivery mechanisms and the three tests.

Whether the Prime Minister has taken steps to reduce his business travel since 4 July 2024.

Travel plans will always vary and are decided with consideration of the best use of a Minister’s time and in the interests of the taxpayer. Security considerations are also taken into account.As was the practice under the previous Administration, information about official overseas ministerial travel will be published as part of the Cabinet Office transparency returns and made available on gov.uk.

Pursuant to the Answer of 26 November 2024 to Question 14113 on the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee, whether Permanent Secretaries on the Committee are bound by its decisions on remuneration, and what mechanisms are in place to manage potential conflicts of interest.

The role of the Permanent Secretary Remuneration Committee (PSRC) is to provide an annual independent assessment about the performance of individual Permanent Secretaries and make recommendations to the Prime Minister on pay awards for Permanent Secretaries. The Cabinet Secretary and other Permanent Secretary members of the Committee are bound by the Prime Minister’s decisions on pay. To prevent any conflicts of interest, the non-civil servant members of the Committee make proposals on the performance of the Cabinet Secretary and other Permanent Secretary Committee members.

How many Senior Civil Service roles in the Cabinet Office have been permanently filled by people who were initially appointed on an interim or temporary basis by grade in the last 12 months.

Since 24 March 2024, 7 Senior Civil Service roles in the Cabinet Office have been permanently filled by people who were initially appointed on an interim or temporary basis in the last 12 months.

Pursuant to the Answer of 10 January 2025 to Question 21347 on Conditions of Employment, whether his Department has issued guidance on non-contingent labour contract which explains that direction on their use.

The Cabinet Office does not have guidance on non-contingent labour contracts as this is not a generally used term.

If he will make it his policy to ensure that transparency returns from his Department include an indicative value of any hospitality received.

The Ministerial Code already requires ministers to declare the estimated value, where possible, of any hospitality received above de minimus levels. As has been the case under successive administrations, special advisers and senior officials are not required to declare the value of hospitality received.

Pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2023 to Question 6096 on Public Appointments, what his Department's timetable is for considering whether to implement the previous Government's commitments made in the report entitled Strengthening Ethics and Integrity in Central Government, published in July 2023, CP 900.

As set out in my previous Written Answer on 22 October 2024 (PQ 6096), we are still considering whether the commitments made by the previous administration are sufficient and appropriate for meeting the Committees’ recommendations. We will provide a further update in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2025 to Question 30683 on Cabinet Office: Media, how many staff are assigned to the New Media Unit; what grades they are assigned at; and whether this includes special advisers.

The New Media Unit is currently made up of departmental loans while it is in its initial phase. There are no special advisers assigned to the New Media Unit. Recruitment for its permanent structure is ongoing.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2025 to Question 22459 on Honours, if he will publish that guidance.

New guidance on ministerial involvement in the Honours System will be issued in due course.

Pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2025 to Question 24253 on Cabinet Office: Equality, which diversity and inclusion (a) days and (b) weeks and (c) months were marked from July 2024 to December 2024 inclusive.

As has been the case under previous administrations, the Cabinet Office marks a range of events throughout the year. During the period from July 2024 to December 2024 inclusive, this included marking events such as Rosh Hashanah, Black History Month, National Inclusion Week, and Inter Faith Week. These events were marked through a range of means that included intranet articles, panel events, internal newsletters, and network events.

What equality, diversity and inclusion courses are provided by Civil Service Learning.

The only cross Civil Service Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) course provided through the Cabinet Office’s central training contracts is Civil Service Expectations.