Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2026, to Question 112197, on Lord Mandelson, if he will publish Gordon Brown’s letter to the Cabinet Secretary and the reply; and whether that information is within scope of the Humble Address.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government has no plans to publish private correspondence between Rt Hon Gordon Brown and the former Cabinet Secretary.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 20 February 2026, to Question 112168, on Government, what role Tim Allan played in the new advice given to communication teams on UK Government branding.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The update to the branding guidance was the responsibility of the Government Communications Service.
This guidance was developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders and in accordance with standard protocols in Summer 2025. Tim Allan was appointed in September 2025.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the (a) Cabinet Secretary and (b) Cabinet Office Propriety and Constitution Group provide advice to the Prime Minister on the number of political peerages to be created, and the allocation between political parties.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Neither the Cabinet Secretary nor the Cabinet Office Propriety and Constitution Group have a role in advising the Prime Minister on the number of political peerages to be created, or the allocation between political parties.
Asked by: Kevin Hollinrake (Conservative - Thirsk and Malton)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Jonathan Powell attended the meeting between the Prime Minister and Pravind Jugnauth on 23 July 2024.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The meeting between the Prime Minister and Pravind Jugnauth was before Jonathan Powell’s appointment as Special Envoy for BIOT negotiations.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the input of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was requested by the Cabinet Office Propriety and Ethics Team in producing the due diligence on Lord Mandelson.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to the former Cabinet Secretary’s letter to the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee of 30 October: https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/50019/documents/269409/default/
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, further to the Humble Address of 4 February 2026 relating on the appointment of Lord Mandelson as HM Ambassador to Washington, how many separate volumes of returns he anticipates publishing..
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer you to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2026, to Question 111932, on Lord Mandelson, what discussions (a) Morgan McSweeney and (b) Paul Ovenden had via email on this matter.
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 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working to ensure that Parliament’s instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
Asked by: Baroness Shawcross-Wolfson (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 2 February (HL13762), what progress they have made in the arm's length bodies review; when they expect that review to be completed; and when they will publish its findings.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
I refer the Noble Lady to my answer to HL13762.:
Question:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 19 January (HL13276), when the arm's length bodies (ALB) review will be completed; and whether its findings will be published.
Answer:
The review is ongoing. Outcomes will be communicated in due course.
Asked by: Lord Norton of Louth (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to provide an update on progress made in implementing the recommendations of the report from the Statutory Inquiries Committee Public inquiries: Enhancing public trust (HL Paper 9).
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We are grateful for the work of the House of Lords statutory inquiries committee and its report published in September 2024, to which the government responded in February 2025.
As set out in that response the Cabinet Office will publish The Inquiry Practitioners' Handbook in due course. The Government has also launched a publicly accessible tracker reporting progress on inquiry recommendations and amended the Ministerial Code to ensure Cabinet Office policy expertise informs decisions on establishing a public inquiry and agreeing terms of reference.
The Public Office (Accountability) Bill is also progressing in parliament, making non-statutory inquiries much more powerful options.
Asked by: Lord Birt (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government which public positions and roles cannot be filled by Roman Catholics, Jews and those not in communion with the Church of England; and what constraints are placed on the authority of a Prime Minister or Lord Chancellor who is a practicing Roman Catholic or Jew.
Answered by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Government recognises that there are historical restrictions in statute on Roman Catholic and Jewish people making and advising the Crown on Church appointments. In practice, this affects those holding the offices of Prime Minister and Lord Chancellor. This does not prevent those professing the Roman Catholic or Jewish faith from holding these roles and in such cases the Government would make alternative arrangements for advising the Crown about Church appointments. The Government keeps this matter under review, but, given other pressing issues, this is not a current priority.
As the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the Sovereign must be in communion with the Anglican Communion. Individuals practising other faiths therefore cannot become Sovereign, Regent or a Counsellor of State.