Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, and the (a) Provision of Merchant Acquirer Services and (b) Provision of Payment Gateway Services contracts with BARCLAYS BANK PLC trading as Barclays Payments, for what reason requiring Barclays Bank to be a Net zero company by 2050 is a key performance indicator for these specific contracts; and why net zero is relevant to the provision of payment gateway services.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The provision of Merchant Acquirer Services and the provision of Payment Gateway Services contracts were tendered in 2017/18 and awarded in 2019. The procurement policy, introduced by the previous government, required suppliers on significant contracts to align with the UK’s 2050 Net Zero target. This applies even when the service is not carbon intensive, because the policy requires that the government’s supply chain must support climate commitments.
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) linking the contract to Barclays’ Net Zero trajectory ensures the supplier’s strategic direction aligns with government environmental policy and consistency across all major suppliers, regardless of the nature of the service. Using KPIs like this demonstrates responsible sourcing; signals that the government expects sustainability leadership from major partners and helps standardise expectations across all major suppliers, making compliance measurable and reportable.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the (a) FOI reference numbers and (b) dates of the Freedom of Information Act responses on the Government Car Service where his Department has released information in full.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Hon Member will be aware that as under successive administrations, the Cabinet Office does not routinely publish responses to FOI requests.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued on (a) the selection and use of KPIs in government procurement and (b) whether failure to meet KPIs is grounds for termination of contracts.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Procurement Act 2023, introduced by the previous Government, empowers contracting authorities to terminate their contracts for serious breaches of contract or poor performance. It also now makes it a statutory requirement for contracting authorities, where appropriate, to set and publish at least three key performance indicators for public contracts with an estimated value of more than £5 million.
Additionally, the Cabinet Office provides guidance on the selection and use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) through the Sourcing Playbook. This guidance provides that all new projects should include relevant and proportionate performance measures designed to incentivise delivery.
While specific grounds for termination are subject to individual contract terms, it is the responsibility of each contracting authority to manage supplier performance.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on Ann Limb, what is the status of the issuing the Letters Patent under the Great Seal for Ann Limb’s peerage.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
On 5 February 2026, Dame Ann Limb, DBE was created a Life Peer by Letters Patent sealed under the Great Seal. This was formally announced via a notice placed in the London and Edinburgh Gazettes: https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/5049850.
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 5 March 2026 to Question 114870 on Lobbying: Finance, whether grant funding has been approved where lobbying activity is expressly part of the purpose of the grant since July 2024.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The government grants register is published on GOV.UK. The latest publication, for 2023/24, makes no reference to lobbying under the purpose of any scheme listed.
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 Cabinet Office contractfinder publication, Provision of Equalities Case Studies, 14 November 2025, Ref: CCZZ25A11, what the terms of reference are of the social research being commissioned; and what the timetable is for the publication of that social research.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This Government is committed to breaking the link between background and success and ending the ceiling on the ambitions of people in Britain. The Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) is working on delivering the Government’s Plan for Change, helping to ensure that equality issues are actively considered in all five missions.
This project will feed into resources to help equip policy makers across government departments working on the Opportunity Mission with an understanding of how people’s lives are impacted by their personal characteristics, to support robust policy development and in line with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
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, with reference to page 124 of the DHSC annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1446, whether Alan Milburn is required to recuse himself from involvement in NHS and private sector health policy relating to (a) AM Strategy Ltd, (b) Bridgepoint Capital Ltd, (c) Human Therapeutic Ltd, (d) Mars Incorporated and (e) PWC.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Prior to appointment, non-executive candidates are required to declare all relevant interests. Appropriate mitigations are then put in place and approved by the Department.
This process was carried out for the Rt Hon. Alan Milburn, whose interests, and any updates to them, are available in the Department’s Annual Report and Accounts and on the GOV.UK website in alignment with Government policy.
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, with reference to the DHSC annual report and accounts 2024-25, HC1446, what the payment of £18,000 of gross benefits for the Second Permanent Secretary relates to.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
As stated in the Department’s Remuneration Report, that forms part of the annual report and accounts 2024/25, the Department’s Second Permanent Secretary, Tom Riordan, received £18,000 benefits in kind during 2024/25, to cover the dual location of his role.
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 23 February 2026, to Question 113125, on Erasmus+ programme, if he will publish or provide a relevant hyperlink to the technical amendments made.
Answered by James Murray - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The text of the Decision will be published on the GOV.UK, at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/specialised-committee-on-participation-in-union-programmes.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, further to the Summary of the UK Government legal position: The legality of defensive action in respect of Iranian regional attacks, of 1 March 2026, whether it is the policy position of HM Government that UK Government could have given permission to permit the use of the US Diego Garcia military base on the Chagos Islands for the United States to launch its pre-emptive strikes on Iran.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The United States' operational use of Diego Garcia is governed by an Exchange of Notes between the UK and the USA.
The potential use of any UK base or base on UK sovereign territory by foreign military forces for operational purposes is closely considered to ensure that we are content with their proposed activities taking place on/from those bases.