Written questions by Wood.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95640 on Senior Civil Servants: Redundancy Pay, what was the legal basis for the previous Cabinet Secretary being given an exit payment.

The Employment Rights Act 1996 defines contracts and employee rights for pay, leave, dismissal and other employment rights. The model Permanent Secretary contract mentioned in the answer of 9 December 2025, states the terms and conditions and is used for Permanent Secretary level appointments including the Cabinet Secretary.

Pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91618 on Cabinet Office: Social Media, on what topics, campaigns and programmes the expenditure on each platform was for.

Please see below for the requested breakdown:CampaignPlatformNMU - Border SecurityMetaNMU - Breakfast ClubsMetaCabinet Office - COVID enquiryMeta, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok, RedditNMU - Community Diagnostic CentresMeta, SnapchatGovernment Digital and DataLinkedInGreat FuturesLinkedInNMU - NeighbourhoodsMetaVeteran employment support campaignMeta, LinkedInVeterans healthcare campaignMeta

Pursuant to the answer of 25 November 2025 to Question 91381 on Tom Kibasi, what the length of his secondment to Downing Street was.

Tom Kibasi was hired on secondment for a period of 2 months.

Whether his Department operates a code system to determine when and what replies are given to written parliamentary questions.

It is for the answering Minister to determine how to reply to a written parliamentary question.

Whether his Department has a book of precedents.

The Cabinet Office Precedent Book was last updated in 1992 and has been largely superseded by other documents, including the Cabinet Manual.The Cabinet Office does not maintain a book of precedents.

Whether he plans to use the National Security and Investment Act 2021 to restrict Chinese ownership of companies in (a) water, (b) electricity, (c) gas, (d) telecoms, (e) data centres and (f) nuclear.

The Government has powers under the National Security and Investment (NSI) Act 2021 to review and, where required, intervene in investments that may pose a risk to national security. The NSI Act both facilitates investment into sensitive sectors with appropriate safeguards where needed, and provides powers to act in the interests of national security where necessary and proportionate. Acquisitions considered under the NSI Act are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and the Government will not hesitate to use its powers where necessary.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 93002 on Devolution, and with reference to his Department's joint press release entitled UK Minister vows to work with devolved nations to deliver growth in first visit to Northern Ireland, published on 3 October 2024, for what reason the press release referred to the devolved nations.

Reminders on terminology have been issued to relevant teams and departments.

Pursuant to the Answers of 9 December 2025 to Question 96208 on Public Appointments: Pay and Question 94701 on Baroness Shafik, how many direct ministerial appointments are currently in post in the Cabinet Office and Downing Street; and if he will set out their title, responsibilities and remuneration.

I refer the Honoural Member to the answer given to PQ UIN 98100.The responsibilities of these organisations and postholders can be found in their published terms of reference on GOV.UK

Pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2025, to Question 90248, on Official Cars: Prime Minister, if she will set out the reason that disclosing the aggregated figure would impact national security.

It is our long-standing policy not to provide detailed information on those arrangements, as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.

What the estimated cost is of the Census 2031 in cash terms.

The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 12th of December is attached.

Pursuant to the answer of 2 December 2025 to Question 94201 on Trade Union Officials: Facilities Agreements, if he will publish that guidance.

A copy of the Facility Time Framework and its supporting guidance was deposited in the House Library in May of this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95639 on Civil Service: Redundancy, whether the Redundancy and Compensation Control process holds or collates data on departmental spending on exit payments and the number of civil servants leaving the Civil Service through such processes.

Whilst indicative figures are part of the cases submitted to Cabinet Office, the Redundancy and Compensation control does not hold data on the final number or cost of exits payments. This data is available in each department’s annual report and accounts.

If he will publish the Cabinet Office Facility Time Framework.

A copy of the Facility Time Framework and its supporting guidance was deposited in the House Library in May of this year.

If he will publish the Cabinet Office disclosure, Ref: FOI2025/18072, of 5 December 2025, on Ministerial Gifts.

The Cabinet Office confirmed in its response to this FOI that it does not hold any information in scope of the request.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 94699 on Spectator: Advertising, for what reason GB News has not received a SAFE framework approval.

Although the GB News website is not assessed, GB News is utilised for radio and television advertising.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 95647 on Government Department: Advertising, in what formats are data held for spending on public relations, marketing and advertising firms, other than social media firms.

Data is held under categories: Digital, Out of Home, Press, Radio and Television. As with any media planning approach, channels are selected based on their ability to engage with relevant audiences in alignment with the government's strategic objectives. The Cabinet Office is consistently tracking and reviewing spending on communications to ensure efficiency, efficacy, and value for the taxpayer.

Pursuant to the answer of 21 November 2025 to Question 90739 on Ministers: Public Appointments, what his Department's definition of a desk note is.

The guidance on making direct ministerial appointments that was published on 30 October replaced an internal desk note, with some expanded expectations on due diligence, conflicts of interest, and transparency. It was also expanded to provide greater clarity on direct ministerial appointments for a wider audience, including setting out publicly where such roles sit within the various routes into government.

Whether he has held discussions with his NATO counterparts on the EU's position on requiring SAFE payments.

The UK has and will continue to hold a ‘NATO First’ approach. While it is disappointing that we were not able to positively conclude discussions on UK participation in the first round of SAFE, the UK continues to step up on European security in the face of rising threats, including through Foreign and Defence Secretary engagements at NATO ministerial meetings in October and December. Our Security and Defence Partnership with the EU will complement and reinforce NATO’s role as the cornerstone of Euro Atlantic Security and our defence firms will continue to be a vital part of defence supply chains across the continent; in the last year alone, we have struck significant deals with Norway, Türkiye, and Germany.

Pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2025 to Question 91374 on List of Ministerial Responsibilities, for what reason the updated list has not been published.

An updated list of ministerial responsibilities is still in production.

With reference to to the Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, published on 5 December 2025, if he will publish the proprietary guidance on paid publicity.

For proprietary guidance on paid publicity, please refer to the following link:https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/propriety-guidance/#Paid-publicity