Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the EU's Industrial Accelerator Act on non-tariff barriers with (a) Great Britain and (b) the United Kingdom.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
This government is closely following the Commission's proposals for the Industrial Accelerator Act, and the EU’s Made in Europe agenda more widely and has engaged directly with Member States, the Commission and industry on the issue.
We have been clear in discussions with EU counterparts that the UK is a close and trusted European partner, and that the UK and EU must work together to boost growth, resilience, and economic security. We are considering the Act as published earlier this week and engaging with industry on its contents.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the guidance entitled Rules on lobbying for non-departmental public bodies, published in October 2010, remains Government policy.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The principles of the Rules on lobbying for non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) guidance, published in October 2010, remain Government policy.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she has issued guidance to departments on publishing regular lists of Areas of Research Interest.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government Office for Science manages the guidance for departments on the development, publication and use of Areas of Research Interest (ARIs). The guidance sets out best practice for publishing ARIs and is available on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/writing-and-using-areas-of-research-interest/writing-and-using-areas-of-research-interest.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether 10 Downing Street had discussions with representatives of Global Counsel over the visit of the Prime Minister to the offices of Palantir with Lord Mandelson.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff.
In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas.
This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.
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 13 October 2025 to Question 77563 on Palantir, whether there is a record of who the Prime Minister (a) met and (b) spoke to during that visit.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff.
In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas.
This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Prime Minister discussed UK defence procurement of services from Palantir during his visit in February 2025.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The visit was part of the Prime Minister's trip to Washington. During this visit the Prime Minister listened to a short presentation about Palantir’s work, followed by a tour of the premises and an introduction to members of staff.
In December 2025, the MOD signed an extension to the Enterprise Agreement with Palantir that had been initially awarded in November 2022, by the previous Government, and via a direct award. This extension covered existing services and ensured there was no drop-off in MOD capability in critical areas.
This contract - and all other contracts for any firm - go through the usual rigorous departmental processes and their decision makers.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what his policy is on grants being awarded to bodies with terms of reference that permit lobbying using grant funds.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Grant funding should be used for its intended purpose and deliver value for money. Undertaking lobbying activity using government grant funding is not permitted, except in rare cases where lobbying activity is expressly part of the purpose of the award of the grant.
This policy does not impinge on an organisation's ability to use funding from other, non-government sources, however they see fit.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to publish the Public Bodies Directory for 2025-26.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
An updated version of the Public Bodies landscape, covering data from 2024-25 will be published on gov.uk before the end of May 2026.
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, whether Lord Mandelson was involved in the China Audit.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the Government's response to the Urgent Question tabled on 12 February, the Written Ministerial Statement in the name of the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister that same day, and Oral Statement on the 23 February which set out an update on the Government's process. We will set out further details in due course. The Government wishes to ensure that Parliament's instruction is met with the urgency and transparency that it deserves.
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 31 March 2025 to Question 40911 on Government Departments: Social Media, if he will update the guidance to require Ministers to declare (a) hospitality and (b) other meetings with senior media executives from (i) X, (ii) Meta and (iii) Tiktok.
Answered by Abena Oppong-Asare
I refer the Hon Member to my previous answers [41868 and 40911]. Details of ministers’ official meetings with all external individuals and organisations are published on a quarterly basis.The Cabinet Office also publishes a monthly register of all gifts and hospitality received by ministers in a ministerial capacity. There are no current plans to include representatives of social media companies under the guidance for senior media figures.