Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2026 to Question 110806 on Palantir, whether the Office of the UK Defence Attache holds any record of the meeting.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Office of the UK Defence Attache holds no record of the meeting as no formal record of the meeting was produced.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether his Department conducted a separate investigation into further wrongdoing following Peter Mandelson’s dismissal as Ambassador in September 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer you to the Oral Statement on the 23rd February, in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Public Inquiry Response Unit is involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Staff from across the Cabinet Office including but not limited to the Public Inquiry Response Unit and the Propriety and Constitution Group are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Proprietary and Constitution Group is involved in ensuring compliance with the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Staff from across the Cabinet Office including but not limited to the Public Inquiry Response Unit and the Propriety and Constitution Group are involved in compliance with the Humble Address motion as necessary.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will ask the US Department of Justice to provide the unredacted email addresses of people included in the emails to Jeffery Epstein that included Government documents.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
A related police investigation is underway. The Government will support the police in whatever way it can.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will make it his policy to approach the US Department of Justice to request whether there are additional communications held by the Department, but which have not been publicly disclosed, between Jeffery Epstein or his associates and to/from Peter Mandelson, that are outside the direct scope of the publication requirements of the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
A related police investigation is underway. The Government will support the police in whatever way it can.
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 22 December 2025 to Question 99535 on List of Ministerial Responsibilities, if he will list the full Ministerial responsibilities of the hon. Member for Makerfield.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Honorable Member for Makerfield is no longer serving as a Minister following his resignation on 28 February 2026.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether guidance has been issued to Ministers and officials in relation to messages that were subject to automatic deletion timers and existed at the time the Humble Address motion of 4 February 2026 was passed but have since expired.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer you to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12th February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and the Oral Statement on the 23rd February, in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, which set out an update on the Government's process and that Departments have been instructed to retain material that may be relevant to the motion.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance has the (a) Cabinet Office and (b) Civil Service People Group given to the Civil Service and Whitehall Departments on the potential implications of the Employment Tribunal decision of Renowden v Office for National Statistics of February 2019 on the use of temporary promotions without open and fair competition.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government is committed to ensuring we attract, develop and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds to help deliver on our priorities.
Neither the Cabinet Office or Government People Group has given additional guidance to Departments in relation to the use of temporary appointments. Decisions on the use of temporary recruitment are delegated to departments.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, 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, and the (a) Provision of Merchant Acquirer Services and (b) Provision of Payment Gateway Services contracts with BARCLAYS BANK PLC trading as Barclays Payments, for what reason requiring Barclays Bank to be a Net zero company by 2050 is a key performance indicator for these specific contracts; and why net zero is relevant to the provision of payment gateway services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The provision of Merchant Acquirer Services and the provision of Payment Gateway Services contracts were tendered in 2017/18 and awarded in 2019. The procurement policy, introduced by the previous government, required suppliers on significant contracts to align with the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target. This applies even when the service is not carbon intensive, because the policy requires that the government’s supply chain must support climate commitments.
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) linking the contract to Barclays’ Net Zero trajectory ensures the supplier’s strategic direction aligns with government environmental policy and consistency across all major suppliers, regardless of the nature of the service. Using KPIs like this demonstrates responsible sourcing; signals that the government expects sustainability leadership from major partners and helps standardise expectations across all major suppliers, making compliance measurable and reportable.