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 7 July 2026 to Question 14355 on Public Appointments: Equality, whether socio-economic background of an applicant is a material consideration in the appointment process for (a) regulated public appointments and (b) civil servants.
Answered by Mark Ferguson - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The socio-economic background of an applicant is not a material consideration in the regulated public appointment process. Applicants are assessed against the advertised criteria for the role.
On civil service recruitment, while data on candidate socio-economic background status is collected during a recruitment campaign, it is for recording and monitoring purposes only. It is not shared with those involved in the appointment process of civil servants for individual candidates and is not a determining factor for appointments.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the answer of 10 July 2026 to Question 15242 on Universities: Admissions, if she will publish the Office for Students guidance on the use of TUNDRA.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not issue guidance to higher education providers on the use of tracking underrepresentation by area (TUNDRA) in admissions decisions. Universities are autonomous institutions and are responsible for their own admissions policies and decisions. The Office for Students (OfS) already publishes information and guidance on area-based measures of higher education participation, including participation of local areas (POLAR) and TUNDRA, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/young-participation-by-area/about-tundra/, https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/mesjucep/regulatory-advice-6-how-to-prepare-an-access-and-participation-plan-may-2025.pdf
The OfS recommends the use of TUNDRA where an area-based measure of young participation is needed, as it provides more precise targeting and improved consistency with other participation measures, although POLAR may still provide additional insights in some circumstances. Higher education providers remain responsible for determining whether and how such measures are used in admissions processes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether HMRC's new international student levy will be charged on (a) EU students and (b) Erasmus+ students studying in the UK.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The international student levy, payable by English higher education (HE) providers, will be introduced from the 2028/29 academic year to raise revenue to be reinvested into the HE and skills system, including the reintroduction of maintenance grants. The government has already announced that transnational education delivered outside of the UK will be out of scope of the levy. As part of the ongoing policy development, the department is considering the merits of exempting any additional groups of international students and will update on this in due course.
The UK has committed to participate in Erasmus+ in the 2027/28 academic year. This is the year prior to the levy coming in, meaning providers will not be required to pay the levy for Erasmus+ students in 2027/28. Any continued UK participation in Erasmus+ thereafter will need to be agreed under the next Multiannual Financial Framework and interactions with the levy would be clarified as part of this.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance has been given to local authorities by HM Government on (a) civil or (b) criminal penalties for urination in a public place in (i) England and (ii) London, including through (1) Public Space Protection Orders and (2) council bye-laws.
Answered by Jim McMahon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Local authorities are responsible for determining if there is a need to make a byelaw and the relevant powers for doing so. The government’s published guidance on byelaws is available on GOV.UK. Local authorities seeking to make a byelaw on public urination may refer to model byelaw set 8, which includes a clause on urinating in public.
The Home Office provides statutory guidance to support the effective use of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPO). Through the Crime and Policing Act, the Government has increased the maximum Fixed Penalty Notice for breach of a PSPO from £100 to £500. The statutory guidance will be updated to reflect this change and to help ensure the power is used proportionately in line with local circumstances.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the UK sanctions against Roman Abramovich allow for expenditure on (a) public relations and (b) public affairs firms, under the term of the OFSI consents and licences.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) can only issue licences where specific licensing grounds exist within the relevant sanctions regime and where the conditions of those grounds have been met.
Licensing of professional services of this kind may be permissible under one of a number of licensing purposes. Depending on the facts of any particular application this could be: basic needs, extraordinary expenses, prior obligations, or the routine holding and maintenance of frozen funds or economic resources. It would be for the applicant to demonstrate that the criteria of any licensing purpose were met in their particular circumstances.
It should also be noted that since 10 October 2024, the Office for Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) has been responsible for trade sanctions licensing of standalone services prohibited under the UK's trade sanctions, including professional and business services under the Russia sanctions regime covering areas such as: accounting, auditing, engineering, management consulting, and public relations, as well as energy-related, infrastructure, interception, and shipping services across a range of other sanctions regimes.
It is not possible for OFSI to give a breakdown into granular service categories of previously issued licences. Information on the number of licences issued by financial year is available in OFSI’s Annual Review documents, which are published here: OFSI Annual Reviews - GOV.UK
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to HM Treasury closed consultation, Future regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administrators, December 2025, and with reference to the answer of 12 January 2026, to Question 102334, on Defence: Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to repeal Article 12(1)(a) of assimilated Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 excluding companies involved in activities related to ‘controversial weapons’.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As set out in response to PQ UIN 102334 on 12 January 2026, the UK Benchmarks Regulation sets out regulatory regime for benchmarks. It includes requirements for labels such as UK Climate Transition Benchmarks and UK Paris-aligned Benchmarks.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) monitors and supervises benchmark administrators according to the Benchmarks Regulation. The FCA published a statement regarding their position on sustainability regulations and UK defence investment on 11 March 2025.
The Treasury launched a consultation on the future regulatory regime for benchmarks and benchmark administrators on 17 December 2025. This consultation sought views on proposals to reform the UK’s existing benchmarks regime, including the Climate Transition Benchmark and Paris-Aligned Benchmark labels. The Government will publish its response to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the UK Asset Resolution Annual Report and Accounts 2025-2026, published 19 August 2026, what proportion of the assets in each of the (a) NRAM and (b) B&B funded defined benefit pension schemes are held in UK equities.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The NRAM and B&B pension schemes are managed independently from government by Trustees responsible for the schemes’ investment strategy. The schemes’ investments are concentrated in UK-based bonds, with no current equity holdings, reflecting their status as defined benefit schemes closed to new members.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 29 May 2026 to Question 2052 on Sanctions, whether any of the general licences granted by OFSI allow for the ancillary provision of public relations and public affairs.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Office of Financial Sanctions (OFSI) general licences authorise certain categories of payments and financial services that would otherwise be prohibited under UK financial sanctions regulations. OFSI does not provide exemptions from wider trade sanctions or other regulatory restrictions, but it may fall within the remit of other parts of Government.
Whether a particular service may be provided under a general licence depends on the scope and conditions of that licence. Regarding public relations and public affairs, the Government has made clear that there is a presumption that applications for specific licences for legal fees relating to defamation and similar cases will be rejected and OFSI’s Russian and Belarusian Legal Services General Licence does not authorise legal fees for such cases. Further information is set out in the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 March 2023.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether a peer can be removed from the Roll of the Peerage if they do not (a) volunteer and (b) consent for their removal.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The June 2004 Royal Warrant provided for the creation and maintenance of the Roll of the Peerage. Under the terms of the Warrant, any person entered on the Roll may apply to be removed from it.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which Minister is responsible for the efficiency of the UK Statistics Authority.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.
A response to the Hon gentleman’s Parliamentary Question of 16th July is attached.