Asked by: Charlie Dewhirst (Conservative - Bridlington and The Wolds)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what Civil Service grade was Downing Street’s John Pond.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to the answer of 3 February 2026, Official Report, PQ 110410.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Lord Mandelson’s personal information, in as far as it relates to his appointment and vetting, is in scope of the Government response to the Humble Address; and what is the definition of personal information.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June and the debate of 3rd June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. As the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister confirmed to the House, the vetting summary and recommendation was shared with the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) as part of the response to the Humble Address.
The Volume II publication outlined the definition of personal information and the Government's approach to fulfilling the Humble Address.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to the Answer of 10 April 2026 to Question 123213 on Peers: Recruitment, whether a mandatory retirement age will be applied to direct ministerial appointments.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Direct ministerial appointees are public office holders and are therefore not employees. Their terms of engagement make clear that there is no construed contract of employment between an appointee and their appointing body. As such, typical conditions and entitlements under employment law, such as those around formal retirement, do not apply to public office holders.
Direct ministerial appointments are also generally short-term and non-recurring in nature. When making such appointments, ministers will take into account the suitability of prospective appointees to meet the criteria for the role and their ability to fulfil the role’s duties. Direct ministerial appointments are made entirely at the discretion of ministers, who may terminate such appointments at any time with or without notice.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the answer of 22 April 2026 to Question 124837 on Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee: Public Appointment, whether the recruitment of additional members will involve a fresh competition.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As noted in PQ 124837, recruitment of additional members is under consideration. Any additional recruitment will take place in compliance with the governance code.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish a copy of his Department's (a) guidance and (b) manuals on undertaking due diligence.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
As per the published Guidance on Making Direct Ministerial Appointments, appropriate open-source due diligence should be carried out by the department responsible for the appointment.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volume II Part I, HC2-I, published on 1 June 2026, p.17, what is the “spad work” reference in the sentence “the spad work has shown just how slick this can be when needed”.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Secretary of State for Defence
In accordance with the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, Special advisers are not entitled to have access to sensitive, security or intelligence reports unless they have completed National Security Vetting to the appropriate level. A number of new Special Advisers were therefore vetted in July 2024 as priority cases. The ability to prioritise cases is a standard service from UK Security Vetting and involves the same checks and standards as all clearances.
Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department received communications from Ministers (a) regarding representations from Peter Mandelson about policy matters in their departments and (b) expressing concerns about such communications between 10 February 2025 and 11 September 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to the Government’s statement and release of information on 1st June, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The documents published in the first and second tranches contain the entirety of the documents the Government has available for disclosure, except those being withheld at the request of the Metropolitan police.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to Part of a Return to an Address of the Honourable the House of Commons dated 4 February 2026 relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, Volume II Part III, HC2-III, published on 1 June 2026, whether he has assessed whether Lord Mandelson acted in accordance with the Civil Service and Diplomatic Service Code in political communications with Ministers.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The obligations and requirements of the Civil Service Code and Diplomatic Service Code are set out publicly. Peter Mandelson is no longer a civil servant.