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 16 June 2026, to Question 4241, on Department for Education: Secondment, what information her Department holds on the reason for (a) staff having been seconded to Serco UK Limited and (b) what areas staff worked on while seconded to Serco UK Limited.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Secondments into and out of the Civil Service are a valuable means of sharing expertise and building capability to support delivery of government priorities. Recent secondments with Serco have supported building procurement, commercial and service delivery experience amongst other areas.
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 4 June 2026, to Question 4161, on Government departments: marketing, how much has been spent on branded goods and merchandise by the department since the Government Chief Commercial Officer letter was sent; and on what items.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department uses the Government Commercial Agency contract with Banner for the purchase of branded goods and merchandise. The Banner contract manager has confirmed that no branded goods or merchandise has been bought by the department since the Government Chief Commercial Officer letter was sent.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the answer of 5 June 2026, to Question 3763, on Government Communications Service: Staff, and of 19 January 2026, to Question 104195, on Government Communication Service: Staff, how many headcount staff in the department are (a) members of the Government Communication Network and (b) are embedded communicators but are not counted as members of the Government Communication Network.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
All embedded communicators are members of the Government Communication Service.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, further to the 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 1, HC1774-I, 11 March 2026, page 107, what confidential undertakings were agreed.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
The settlement agreement between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Peter Mandelson was published as part of the Humble Address.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2026 to Question 8067 on FCDO: Industrial Dispute, what is the request or ask of the PCS trade union that is the subject of the industrial dispute on the restructure process; and whether the PCS trade union has informed the department of future strike dates.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
The Public and Commercial Services (PCS) trade union has asked for an unconditional guarantee against compulsory redundancy. The department remains engaged in discussions with PCS regarding the restructuring programme and continues to seek to minimise the need for compulsory redundancies. No further strike dates have been notified beyond what is already announced.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what was the cost to the public purse of her Department's summer reception held on 1 July 2026; and how much of the total cost was spent on (a) alcohol and (b) catering.
Answered by Seema Malhotra
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's summer reception is one of the key moments of the year for engagement with overseas diplomats based in the UK, and has been supported by successive governments for several decades. We are grateful to the many UK food and drink companies who offered to showcase their products at this year's reception, helping to reduce the costs of the event for the FCDO.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which organisation will replace MHCLG when it vacates the 2 Marsham Street offices for the Government Offices Great George Street; and what are the potential implications for the PFI liabilities of the Home Office for Marsham Street.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The "Plan for London" (PfL) will see a number of departments relocating to 2 Marsham Street enabled by MHCLG's move. Detailed planning is underway and will result in more efficient use of government property, creating opportunities to maximise synergies and collaboration across departmental boundaries. Home Office is enabling PfL by consolidating, thereby reducing its PFI liabilities.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the cost to the public purse of security and policing in relation to Downing Street.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government does not disclose detailed information on protective security arrangements at specific sites, including funding levels. This reflects a long-standing policy designed to protect the integrity and effectiveness of security measures, as the release of such information could increase vulnerabilities and compromise site security.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what is the cost to the public purse of security and policing in relation to Chequers.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government does not disclose detailed information on protective security arrangements at specific sites, including funding levels. This reflects a long-standing policy designed to protect the integrity and effectiveness of security measures, as the release of such information could increase vulnerabilities and compromise site security.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has taken steps in 2 Marsham Street to prevent the installation of unauthorised cameras.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
All security incidents are investigated in accordance with established procedures, but in line with the practice of successive administrations, the government does not comment on internal security arrangements.