Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2025, to Question 70519, on Public Inquiries, what has been the total public cost to date of the Inquiry into the preventability of the Omagh bombing.
Answered by Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Government has the deepest sympathy for all of those affected by the Omagh bomb in August 1998. It was a terrible atrocity committed by the Real IRA at a time when the people of Northern Ireland were looking to a future without violence. Our thoughts are with those who have taken part in the hearings to date and particularly with all those victims affected by the events of that terrible day more than 27 years ago.
The Omagh Bombing Inquiry is an independent statutory public inquiry, established to investigate whether the bombing could reasonably have been prevented. While I am the Sponsor Minister for the Inquiry, it is rightly independent from Government. Inquiry spend is therefore an operational matter for the Inquiry which they publish on their website on a regular basis.
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 is the monetary value of the London Allowance for FCDO SCS staff based in London.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The value of the Location Allowance for London-based staff, including senior civil servants, was increased from £3,250 per year to £4,250 in 2013. It has remained unchanged at its current level of £5,000 since April 2018.
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 his speech of 20 January 2026, entitled Move fast. Fix things, what the grade and definition is of a top senior civil servant; and who will undertake the assessments that indicators have been met.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The delivery objectives of all Senior Civil Servants should be linked to the objectives of the department and minister they serve. Their performance against these objectives is assessed by their line manager.
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 9 March 2026 to Question 114464 on Cabinet Office: Conditions of Employment, what teams do the 126 employees with homeworking contracts work in.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Contractual home working staff are spread across 42 teams, of those only 3 contain 5 or more home workers. These are:
United Kingdom Security Vetting Delivery Team
Public Sector Fraud Authority National Fraud Initiative
Government People Group Civil Service Data & Insight Services
All other teams contain less than 5 individuals. It is standard statistical practice to not report on groups less than 5.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the salary is of the (a) former and (b) new Cabinet Secretary.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Salary details for the former Cabinet Secretary as at 11 November 2025 are available here. Details for the new Cabinet Secretary will be published at a later date.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what has been the total cost to date of the Thirlwall Inquiry.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The total cost of the Thirlwall Inquiry from its commencement in September 2023 to the end of March 2026 is £18,718,000.00. This includes March 2026 forecasted amounts.
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 3 March 2026 to Question 114873 on Home Office: Redundancy Pay, whether exit payments made to the last two Cabinet Secretaries were eligible for the £30,000 tax-free allowance.
Answered by Satvir Kaur - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
It is a longstanding policy not to comment on individual employment matters. The guidance on tax on severance payments is here: https://www.gov.uk/termination-payments-and-tax-when-you-leave-a-job/what-you-pay-tax-and-national-insurance-on
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 page 48 of the Cabinet Office consultation paper on Digital ID, 10 March 2026, CP1498, whether prospective employees who do not have a passport or a Digital ID will be able to take up a job.
Answered by James Frith - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Digital right to work checks will be required by the end of the Parliament. Anyone starting a new job will be able to use the new, free digital proof of identity for these right to work checks - or do a digital check of other documents, including your passport.
The design and rollout of digital ID will be accompanied by an inclusion programme across the UK.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he has made changes to the Approvals Process for the Creation of New Arm's-Length Bodies since July 2024.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Approvals Process for creating new Arm's-Length Bodies (ALBs) has not changed since July 2024. Approval for setting up a new ALB must be sought formally from Cabinet Office ministers and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury before any decision about any new ALB is made. It is government policy that arm’s length bodies should only be set up as a last resort, when there is no viable alternative. New bodies are also being considered under the same principles as the wider ALB review, as announced on 6 April 2025.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what the final outturn cost was of the refurbishment of the No9 media room including VAT.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The payment appears in the January transparency publications for Cabinet Office expenditure over £25,000