Written questions by Wood.

How he plans to change the hiring criteria for Senior Civil Servants.

Our approach to hiring for the Senior Civil Service (SCS) is changing to place greater value on frontline delivery, innovation, and private sector experience.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026, to Question 104805, on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, whether the former Cabinet Secretary’s exit payment was made through the (a) the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, (b) the Injury Benefit Scheme or (c) another Civil Service scheme.

As set out in the Cabinet Office accounts (page 86), the payment for the former Cabinet Secretary was a severance payment, with the value calculated using the Civil Service Compensation Scheme tariff.

Whether his Department has issued guidance on the provision of official cars to Ministers outside the Government Car Service by (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) private contractors.

The Government Car Service does not provide advice or guidance on the provision of cars outside its remit, including arrangements made by the Metropolitan Police or private contractors.

Pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2026 to Question 103794,on Ministers: Aviation, which business unit of his Department holds the data referenced in the VIP International Flights privacy notice.

The data referenced is held by Cabinet Office Commercial.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 20254 to Question 98794 on Mission Boards, which Secretary of State leads each Mission Board.

Missions Boards are the responsibility of each of the lead Secretaries of State: Kickstarting Economic Growth - Chancellor of the ExchequerAn NHS Fit for the Future - Secretary of State for HealthSafer Streets - Secretary of State for the Home DepartmentBreak Down Barriers to Opportunity - Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and EqualitiesMake Britain a Clean Energy Superpower - Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104803, how much the two annual pay awards were; and whether the FDA is recognised as a trade union.

As set out previously (UIN 54797), the government’s policy is that pay awards for special advisers are considered annually, and any such award is linked to the approach taken for the Senior Civil Service. In line with the headline award for senior civil servants, the 2024/25 pay award for special advisers was 5% and the 2025/26 pay award for special advisers was 3.25%. The FDA is recognised as a trade union for special advisers.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 8 January 2026, to Question 101383, on Government Actuary's Department: Freedom of Information, what the total cost would be in cash terms over 99 years without net present value discounting.

I refer the Hon Member to the answers I gave on this and other matters during the Urgent Question debate on 26 January. As an expert in the financial services industry, he will understand that it is simply wrong to ignore the effects of inflation and the changing value of money on the real costs of a deal that lasts 99 years.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of dynamic alignment with the EU electricity market on deregulation.

We will negotiate an electricity agreement with the EU to cut the cost of trading electricity with European partners, strengthen our energy security, drive investment in the North Sea, and help to achieve our Clean Power 2030 Mission. The detail of commitments in this agreement, as with other areas, is a matter for negotiations. This does not change the Government’s plans to ensure regulators and regulation support growth.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 15 September 2025, to Question 69770, if he will publish information on meetings held with officials.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) already publishes quarterly transparency data on the external meetings held by the department's permanent under secretaries, directors general, and finance and commercial directors. Publishing comprehensive lists of all the external meetings held by every member of FCDO staff based in the UK and overseas could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has received representations from Inter Mediate on sanctions on the Syrian government.

I refer the Hon Member to the answer given on 3 June 2025 to the question 52690.

Pursuant to the Answer of 19 January 2026 to Question 105247 on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who took the decision to recall the papers.

The redactions to the information were agreed at the appropriate level by Cabinet Office officials, following engagement with The National Archives. Papers were not recalled from The National Archives, which is where the closed extracts remain.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department uses the Global Disinformation Index service.

No.

Pursuant to the answer of 9 April 2025 to Question 42994 on Government Departments: Aviation, whether helicopter travel under the Central Cabinet Office Corporate Travel Agency Contract has been commissioned since April 2025.

Ministerial travel is carefully considered to ensure both efficiency and the interests of the taxpayer are prioritised.While the Cabinet Office can facilitate helicopter travel in exceptional circumstances, routine helicopter journeys for ministers are no longer carried out under this Government.Helicopter travel has been commissioned under the Cabinet Office Central Travel Contract on five occasions since April 2025. Only one of these flights was for a government minister.24 Prime Ministerial helicopter tasks were facilitated under the Command Support Air Transport Fleet between 01 February 2021 and 04 September 2023.

Pursuant to the answer of 20 January 2026 to Question 104162 on Senior Civil Servants: Recruitment, what the department, grade and job title was of the 90 civil servants recruited that were advertised across government but not recruited externally.

The table below shows the breakdown of grades for the vacancies referred to in our previous answer: GradeOffers MadeSCS Pay Band 161SCS Pay Band 221SCS Pay Band 34SCS Pay Band 44Grand Total90 In order to release details of roles advertised cross-government, we would need to consult with each vacancy holder/recruitment team to understand why the role was not advertised externally (i.e. was this due to logistics or for security reasons) and seek their consent to public release. This would exceed the cost limit of PQs and, as such, we are unable to provide this information.

With reference to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, if he will provide a hyperlink to the contract performance information for the (a) Provision of Custodial Services and (b) PFI Contracted Estate Prison contracts.

The information requested is published and can be accessed at the following link: Prison and Probation Performance Statistics - GOV.UK.

Pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2025 to Question 98098 on Ministry of Justice: Public Appointments, what the annual remuneration of those appointments is.

Due to data protection requirements, this information cannot be disclosed. The Ministry of Justice notes the Cabinet Office’s new guidance on Direct Ministerial Appointments (DMAs), including the information to be published when such appointments are announced, and the creation of a new portal for these announcements. All DMAs enclosed in PQ 98098, with the exception of the English Law Promotion Panel (which is unremunerated), were made before the guidance was published. Going forward, the Ministry of Justice will ensure that announcements of DMAs are made in accordance with this guidance.

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 101957 on Erasmus+ Programme, whether the National Agency will be an arms’ length body.

The department has commenced discussions with the British Council with a view to appointing them as the National Agency. The British Council is an arm’s-length body of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Government's response entitled Repeal of section 76B of the Mauritian Criminal Code by the National Assembly in Mauritius, published on 30 October 2025, what information her Department holds on the reasons for which section 76B of the Mauritian Criminal Code was repealed.

I refer the Hon Member to the written ministerial statement I gave to the House on 15 December 2025 (HCWS1166).

Who the members of the pool of Independent Panel Members for public appointments in his Department are.

The members of the Ministry of Justice’s pool of Independent Panel Members for public appointments are:- Mohamed Ali- Lambert Allman- Nicolina Andall- Delroy Beverley- Lord Bew- Charlotte Black- Baroness Bull- Jayne Butler- Cindy Butts- Jody Chatterjee- Jacqui Francis- Keith Fraser- Graham Gee- Rory Geoghegan- Malcolm John- Carly Jones- William Kennedy- Grant Lamond- Alison Lyon- Paula McDonald- Jacob Meagher- Caterina Milo- Oliver Mosely- Camilla Poulton- Grace Quantock- Dale Simon- Rohan Sivanandan- Graeme Spencer- John Tasioulas- Bernadette Thompson- Rachel Tranter- Mark Trafford- Joanne Vance

Pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2026 to Question 101957 on Erasmus+ Programme, what estimate she has made of the potential cost to the public purse of participating in Erasmus+ in (a) 2026-27 and (b) 2027-28.

We have now concluded negotiations with the European Commission on the UK’s association to Erasmus+ in 2027. This commitment covers the 2027/28 academic year. Any participation in Erasmus+ into the next Multiannual Financial Framework needs to be agreed in future and be based on a fair and balanced contribution.We have secured significantly improved financial terms compared to default arrangements, ensuring a fairer balance between the UK’s contribution to the EU and the number of UK participants who receive funding. We negotiated a 30% discount, securing participation for 2027 at a cost of approximately £570 million, saving UK taxpayers around £240 million while securing the benefits of participation for young people in the UK and across the EU.The UK will receive most of that money back to distribute amongst UK beneficiaries. UK participants can compete for grants from an approximate £1 billion central pot directly managed by the European Commission.Our experience of associating in 2027 will inform any future participation in Erasmus+ under the next Multiannual Financial Framework from 2028/2034.We will report to Parliament the costs arising from participation, including costs related to the implementation of the programme, in its annual accounts.