Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, for which public appointments the Prime Minister is directly responsible.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister is directly responsible for public appointments to 61 bodies and offices across government departments. Individual appointments made by the Prime Minister are publicly announced at the time of appointment.
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 21 October 2024 to Question 6077 on Public Appointments, if the Prime Minister will list each individual Direct Ministerial Appointment which was signed off by 10 Downing Street according to records held by the No. 10 public appointments team since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 14 October 2024, Official Report, PQ 6091.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government records the details of meetings Ministers have at party conferences.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Ministers’ meetings with external organisations at party conferences will generally be in a political capacity so there is no need to normally declare these, unless a senior media figure was also present. Annex D of the Ministerial Transparency Guidance, which is published on GOV.UK, states that ministers’ meetings with external organisations at party conferences will generally be in a political capacity so there is no need to normally declare these, unless a senior media figure was also present. However, if ministers exceptionally hold meetings in the margins of Party conferences in an official ministerial capacity, then these should be recorded and published in the normal way.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the Places for Growth Formative Evaluation Report, published on 30 October 2024, what steps his Department is taking to reach the targets of (a) 50% UK based Senior Civil Service outside of London and (b) reduced workforce in London to 75,000 by 2030.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Formative Evaluation report, commissioned by the previous Government, identified challenges they faced in delivering the SCS target and ambition to reduce the London workforce to 75 000 by 2030. We will tackle these challenges through a focus on a strong regional offer and UK-wide government presence. Our plans will be announced in due course, aligned with the upcoming Spending Review.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the new Ministerial Code, published in November 2024, what assessment he had made of the potential impact of the duty for ministers to comply with international law on (a) protections for UK steel, (b) prisoner voting and (c) rulings of the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government ministers have always had an overarching duty to comply with the law, including international law.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to the new Ministerial Code, published in November 2024, for what reason a duty on ministers to comply with international law is included.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Government ministers have always had an overarching duty to comply with the law, including international law.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has has with the defence sector on the potential impact of environmental, social and governance policies on levels of divestment.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There is nothing contradictory between Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) consideration and the defence sector. A strong national defence is a pre-requisite for the freedoms and aspirations that investors and financial services companies seek to address using ESG considerations.
The Government is committed to bringing forward a Defence Industrial Strategy which ensures the imperatives of national security and a high-growth economy are aligned. Through the Defence Industrial Strategy we will consider the impact of environmental, social and governance policies. The Ministry of Defence also strongly supports the introduction of the regulation of ESG ratings providers which will improve transparency and promote good conduct and address some of the issues which defence companies have raised.
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 Speaker's Statement of 28 October 2024, Official Report, column 531, whether she has made an assessment of the compatibility of those fiscal policy announcements with paragraph 9.1 of the Ministerial Code.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The announcement on the changes made to the debt fiscal rules was made in the Budget statement on 30th October.Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether special advisers in 10 Downing Street have met representatives of Anacta since the general election.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In line with longstanding process, relevant meetings are declared in the Special Advisor transparency publications.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what weight is given to the Prime Minister's views through his Principal Private Secretary on the Committee on the Grant of Honours, Decorations and Medals.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary is a member of the committee, and their views carry equal weight to all other committee members.