Every parliamentary written question tabled by Mike Wood this session, with the full answer and department. See how every department answers, or back to the MP page.
Showing 1,001–1,020 of 2,899 · this parliament
Whether NHS data will be integrated into the Digital ID database.
No. There will be no new single central database storing all government data on a person in one place. We will design the digital ID system to be secure, with only the minimum amount of data collected and stored. Data will primarily remain securely in the parts of the system where it already exists. For instance, data about someone’s health will remain with the National Health Service.
Whether he has made changes to the Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm's-Length Bodies since July 2024.
The Approvals Process for creating new Arm's-Length Bodies (ALBs) has not changed since July 2024. Approval for setting up a new ALB must be sought formally from Cabinet Office ministers and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury before any decision about any new ALB is made. It is government policy that arm’s length bodies should only be set up as a last resort, when there is no viable alternative. New bodies are also being considered under the same principles as the wider ALB review, as announced on 6 April 2025.
Whether the Cabinet Office Propriety and Constitution Group has written guidance on whether an incumbent Prime Minister who loses his House of Commons seat at a general election remains Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister is the head of the Government and holds that position by virtue of his or her ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons, which in turn commands the confidence of the electorate, as expressed through a general election. As set out in the Cabinet Manual, by modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the House of Commons. It is not possible, or desirable, to set out how these conventions operate in practice in every scenario.
What assessment he has made of the potential impact of procurement rules on bank lending to SME companies involved in defence.
The Government is committed to making SMEs a national priority, ensuring they have a fair opportunity to win public contracts and setting ambitious SME spend targets. As set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy, the MOD is backing British Jobs, British Industry and British innovators. Since July 2024, we have signed 1,100 major contracts, with 84% of our annual spend going to British companies. In January we launched a dedicated Defence Office for Small business Growth to boost opportunities and access to defence contracts and the supply chain, on top of our commitment to double direct spend with SMEs by £2.5 billion by May 2028. Delivering on the commitments made in the Strategic Defence Review and the Defence Industrial Strategy, we are developing a dedicated Defence Finance and Investment Strategy (DFIS). This is supported by a new Defence Investors’ Advisory Group, bringing together senior expertise from venture, growth, private capital, and banking to address barriers to financing and investment in the sector.
What the final outturn cost was of the refurbishment of the No9 media room including VAT.
The payment appears in the January transparency publications for Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000
Pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2026 to Question 121096 on Cabinet Office: Email, whether any of those emails were (a) sent to and (b) sent by Gordon Brown.
It would not be appropriate to comment on the security operations of a previous administration.
If he will publish his Department's guidance on Mutually Agreed Exits.
Guidance on the use of Mutually Agreed Exits is available on the Civil Service Pensions website. This is applicable to all employers who use the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. This document, and others, are included in the CSCS Employers page on the Civil Service Pensions Scheme website here https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/employerhub/employer-responsibilities/member-support/civil-service-compensation-scheme-cscs/The Annex 6F document is published on the CSPS website here https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/annex-6f
Whether the Freedom of Information policy team has given guidance to departments on the use of the mosaic justification.
The Cabinet Office has not issued Freedom of Information guidance to government departments on the ‘mosaic effect’.
Whether he plans to uprate Freedom of Information Act cost thresholds.
The cost thresholds above which public authorities are not obliged to comply with a Freedom of Information request are set out in secondary legislation. Any changes to FOI legislation will be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
What data relating to (a) children and (b) schools will be integrated into the Digital ID database.
We will design the digital ID system to be secure, with only the minimum amount of data collected and stored. There will be no new single central database storing all government data on a person in one place. Data will primarily remain securely in the parts of the system where it already exists. Through the public consultation that is now live, we are asking the public what age they think is appropriate to have the digital ID. Whatever the minimum age for eligibility, the system will be designed to operate to international best practice standards for data security and privacy and in line with UK Data Protection Law, to help ensure data is kept safe.
Which company has been awarded the Provision of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advice and Support to the Office for Nuclear Regulation contract; and at what cost.
The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) are an independent Public Corporation. It has agreed a contract with Lisa Ellis Bespoke Business Solutions. The contract is £12,000 per year for 3 years (no VAT charged). There are no other contracts in place for the provision of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion support to ONR staff.
How many Information Tribunal cases relating to His Department have been determined since 4 July 2024; and if he will list the reference numbers of each.
Tribunal decisions, including those relating to the Cabinet Office, are published by The National Archives and can be found at caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
What guidance the MHRA has provided to staff on whether they can express (a) gender-critical or (b) pro-transgender beliefs in the workplace.
All colleagues within the Civil Service, across the Government, are required to follow guidance set out in the Civil Service Code of Conduct. This is available to all on the GOV.UK website. In addition, colleagues are also required to follow Guidance on Diversity and Inclusion and Impartiality for Civil Servants. This guidance is also available on the GOV.UK website.
Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 92264 on NHS England; Redundancy, how many departmental civil servants left under the voluntary exit scheme in the first cohort of November-December 2025; and how many will leave in the second cohort between January and May 2026.
198 employees left in November and December 2025. We are not yet in a position to confirm the total number of leavers, although as of 23 March 2026, a further 98 employees have left or are confirmed leavers under our voluntary exit scheme.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2026 to Question 114464 on Cabinet Office: Conditions of Employment, what teams do the 126 employees with homeworking contracts work in.
Contractual home working staff are spread across 42 teams, of those only 3 contain 5 or more home workers. These are:United Kingdom Security Vetting Delivery TeamPublic Sector Fraud Authority National Fraud InitiativeGovernment People Group Civil Service Data & Insight Services All other teams contain less than 5 individuals. It is standard statistical practice to not report on groups less than 5.
With reference to the guidance entitled the approvals process for the creation of new arm's-length bodies, published on 15 March 2018, whether the Cabinet Office Public Bodies Team assessed the Warm Homes Agency against the requirement that the creation of a new arms length body should only be considered as a last resort; whether the Department provided evidence that alternative delivery models were considered; and which of the tests in chapter 2 of that guidance it overcame.
The formation of the Warm Homes Agency is still under consideration and will be announced in due course. Subject to agreement, the WHA will consolidate the existing delivery landscape by closing the existing body, Salix, and integrating its functions, alongside relevant roles from DESNZ and Ofgem. This approach ensures there will be no net increase in the number of arm’s length bodies supporting the government's objective to rationalise delivery.
Pursuant to the Answer of 24 February 2026 to Question 113596 on Mission Boards: Cabinet Committees, if he will publish the current terms of reference of the NHS Fit for the Future Mission Board; and whether any changes have been made since the Mission Board was originally established.
Mission Boards have been reformed to become delivery-focused forums. The 10-Year Health Plan, published in July 2025, is delivering our Health Mission. Ministers and external stakeholders are involved in a variety of fora to take forward the 10-Year Health Plan. Oversight is maintained by the Departmental Board, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, details of which can be found on the GOV.UK website.
Pursuant to the answer of 16 March 2026 to Question 119901 on Lobbying: Finance, whether he holds information on grant funding for lobbying activity in relation to grants from 2024-25 onwards.
Grants statistics for 2024/25 were published on GOV.UK on 24 March 2026.
Whether Liz Chinchen made a declaration of political activity.
Liz Chinchen declared membership of the Labour Party as part of the declaration of interests process to approve the direct ministerial appointment.
Pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2026, to Question 112642, on Business: Codes of Practice, whether she will produce a (a) full and (b) partial impact assessment.
To reiterate we have always been clear that the proper process needs to be followed, which includes understanding the potential impact on businesses, public functions and services. The EHRC has been asked to provide some information on costs and an Equality Impact Assessment.The Code will have implications for service providers up and down the country so it is important that we get this right.