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: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister was advised of the letter sent by Lord Glasman to Morgan McSweeney and Paul Ovenden on the appointment of Lord Mandelson as Ambassador to the United States.
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: 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: 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 116167 on Peers, if he will set out how the removal from the Roll of the Peerage relates to the status of a peer under the preamble to the House of Lords Precedence Act 1539.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Roll of the Peerage is an officially maintained list of living peers; removal from the Roll determines whether a title can be used in official documents and the precedence attached to it.
The 1539 Act concerns the seating and internal precedence of members within the House of Lords. As noted in Erskine May, these arrangements are in practice modified in line with modern arrangements in the House. Removal from the Roll of the Peerage does not change an individual’s legal right to a peerage, nor their eligibility to membership of and a seat in the House, which can only be removed by an Act of Parliament.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Propriety and Ethics Team utilised AI tools to produce 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: Alex Burghart (Conservative - Brentwood and Ongar)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the current Cabinet Secretary was appointed from a Reserve List in Merit Order.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Manual sets out that the Cabinet Secretary is appointed directly by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister receives advice from the First Civil Service Commissioner, but is the final decision maker.
As set out in the Gov.UK announcement of the Cabinet Secretary appointment, “the Prime Minister and the First Civil Service Commissioner agreed a process to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary”.
Once this process was complete, the First Civil Service Commissioner confirmed that “Dame Antonia Romeo is an exceptional candidate of the highest calibre, having run two of the largest operational departments in Government, and confirmed her track record makes her the right candidate for the role”. The PM appointed her on the 19th February.
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: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament press notice of 25 February 2026, what are the criteria and definition of scope for the Humble Address.
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 10 March 2026 to Question 115825 on Resolution Foundation, which (a) senior official and (b) Minister approved the award of the contact to the Resolution Foundation.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In her opening statement Baroness Hallett, the Chair to the Inquiry, stated that she will hear from expert groups with wide-ranging scientific and other expertise to ensure she has the widest and most diverse evidence possible in making her recommendations. This included drawing upon the knowledge of clinical experts, historians, social scientists, political scientists, data governance experts, statisticians and others.
The C19SF08RF25 contract, which involves the analysis and input of 2 expert witnesses, was then procured and awarded in line with the procurement rules as well as Cabinet Office Commercial policies and procedures.
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 comments by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Cabinet Office of 4 February 2026, Official Report, Columns 372, on Lord Mandelson, which KCs will be advising the Cabinet Secretary.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The former Cabinet Secretary was asked to review available information regarding Peter Mandelson’s contacts with Jeffrey Epstein during his period as a Minister. After an initial review of some documents, the matter was referred to the police. In light of the ongoing criminal investigation that was announced, that review has now been paused. The government is cooperating fully with the police investigation and providing any assistance required.