Written questions by Wood.

To which public inquiries his Department has submitted (a) documents and (b) other communications created between June 2007 and May 2010.

This information is not centrally held. Over 40 statutory public inquiries have been announced since 2006. The question potentially brings into scope all public inquiries that have taken place since June 2007. However, there is no centrally held data on documents or other communications created over the period specified and submitted to public inquiries by the Cabinet Office. Unfortunately, the cost to the public purse of accurately determining this information to would significantly exceed the current disproportionate cost threshold for answering written parliamentary questions set out in the Cabinet Office’s Guide to Parliamentary Work (available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-parliamentary-work).

Whether Lord Mandelson's (a) Fellowship of the 48 Group and (b) work for Global Counsel was considered during his Department's due diligence prior to appointment as Ambassador of the United States.

I refer the Hon Member to the former Cabinet Secretary’s letter to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of 30 October 2025, which sets out the information that was considered as part of the due diligence exercise.

If he will ask the US Department of Justice to provide the unredacted email addresses of people included in the emails to Jeffery Epstein that included Government documents.

A related police investigation is underway. The Government will support the police in whatever way it can.

With reference to his oral statement of 2 February 2026, Official Report, Col. 49, on US Department of Justice Release of Files, if he will publish the (a) letter sent by Gordon Brown to the Cabinet Secretary and (b) response.

The Government has no plans to publish private correspondence between Rt Hon Gordon Brown and the former Cabinet Secretary.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 February 2026, to Question 108238, on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, for what reason his exit payment was a severance payment.

I refer the Hon Member to Minister Turley’s answers on 20 January 2026 (PQs 104805 and 104161). The business case for the Cabinet Secretary’s departure from the Civil Service was calculated on the basis of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.

Innovation and Technology, whether the deadline for applications for the appointment of the Chair of Ofcom was set for either (a) 18 December 2025 or (b) 5 January 2026.

The advert for applications was launched on 17 November 2025, with a deadline of 18 December 2025. On 17 December, the application deadline was extended until 5 January 2026, and the advert on gov.uk was amended to reflect this change.

Pursuant to the answer of 5 January 2026, to Question 100882, on Disinformation, whether Storyzy is used to monitor content relating to gender issues.

GCS does not use Storyzy to monitor content relating to gender issues.

If he will request that the Ethics and Integrity Commission undertakes an investigation in Arden Strategies and lobbying integrity.

The purpose of the Ethics and Integrity Commission is to promote the highest standards in public life. Its terms of reference set out its responsibilities and remit, which can be found at the following link: https://eic.independent-commission.uk/what-we-do/terms-of-reference/ As set out in the terms of reference, the Ethics and Integrity Commission does not investigate individual cases.

What changes have been made to (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Government Digital Service and (c) Government Communications Service guidance on the use of (i) HM Government and (ii) UK Government branding, including when the latter should be used rather than the former in publicity and communications since July 2024.

Since July 2024, guidance has been updated to reflect the new Royal Coat of Arms following the accession of His Majesty The King. A strategic decision has been made to adopt "UK Government" as the primary identity for all public-facing communications.

If he will place in the Library a copy of the election purdah guidance distributed to Whitehall departments for the Gorton and Denton Parliamentary by-election.

The rules governing the conduct of UK Government civil servants during a by-election are an extension of those that apply at all times as set out in the Civil Service Code and as described in the published guidance on general elections, which is published on gov.uk and can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/election-guidance-for-civil-servants. A reminder of these rules was provided to departments following the calling of the Gorton and Denton by-election.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether Lord Mandelson used a non-corporate email address, in whole or in part, for Government business, whilst Ambassador to the United States.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Whether Lord Mandelson had a No10 pass whilst he was Ambassador to the United States.

As was the case under successive administrations, the Government does not comment on security matters.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2025, to Question 86672, on Palantir, whether there were communications between Embassy officials and Global Counsel over the visit, and whether representatives of Global Counsel attended the visit with Lord Mandelson and the Prime Minister to the offices of Palantir in Washington.

I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 October 2025 to Question 77563 on Palantir, whether there is a record of who the Prime Minister (a) met and (b) spoke to during that visit.

The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff. In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas. This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.

What formal title and position John Pond held on 2 August 2009 within Downing Street.

It would not be appropriate to comment on individual staffing matters.

Whether the Cabinet Secretary has received representations from Gordon Brown on communications between Lord Mandelson and Jeffery Epstein.

I refer the Hon Member to the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister’s words to the House during the debate on the ‘US Department of Justice Release of Files’ on Monday 2 February (Hansard Vol 780, Col 49). https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-02-02/debates/10A2B314-165E-4992-A7BF-0F30739D7BBD/USDepartmentOfJusticeReleaseOfFiles

With reference to his oral statement of 2 February 2026, Official Report, Column 47, on US Department of Justice Release of Files, whether he has a formal terms of reference for his review into Lord Mandelson; what his planned timetable is; to whom will it report; and whether there will be a public report.

The review, which was being carried out by the former Cabinet Secretary, has been paused in light of the ongoing criminal investigation that was announced. The government is cooperating fully with the police investigation and will provide any assistance required. We are also working to respond to the Humble Address motion.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025, to Question 94697, on House of Commons Director General: Public Appointments, whether the permanent Director General of the Propriety, Ethics and Constitution Group will be publicly advertised on the public version of the Civil Service Jobs website.

The recruitment campaign is still currently in planning stages and details will be released in due course.

Whether his Department has assessed the salary outcomes, promotion rates and role progression of participants in the Beyond Boundaries programme compared to a control group of comparable civil servants who did not participate; and whether his Department has undertaken a cost benefit analysis of the programme, including average time to promotion, changes in performance markings, retention rates and the financial return on investment to the public purse.

Beyond Boundaries is a 12-month cross-government talent programme that launched in 2021 and in October 2025 we welcomed 794 participants. It is designed to help participants develop the knowledge, skills and networks required to build a satisfying and effective career in the Civil Service. There has been no direct comparison of Beyond Boundaries participants against a control group. Current evaluation data is based upon an anonymous, post programme, survey of participants providing an aggregated picture of participant outcomes. In future, Beyond Boundaries will be part of the National School for Government and Public Services and since October 2025 has been supporting our mission to deliver more training in-house and reduce expenditure on external providers to provide better value for the taxpayer. This provided departments with a reduction in the cost per learner of 37.5%

If she will publish a list of programmes and schemes that require the UK to provide payments to the EU and are not included in the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement of 2020.

All UK participation in EU programmes takes place under the framework of Part V of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). The UK has participated in two EU programmes since 2023, the Horizon Europe research and development programme and Copernicus earth observation programme. The UK will also participate in the Erasmus+ education, youth and sport programme in 2027. Payments are published by the responsible department in its Annual Report and Accounts. The UK also fulfils obligations related to outstanding EU commitments from the UK’s participation in the EU budget before 31 January 2020, as agreed under the Withdrawal Agreement. This is paid by HM Treasury, and details of payments can be found in HM Treasury's EU Finances Statement, published annually.