Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding (a) her Department and (b) the Arts Council has allocated to Decolonise Fest since July 2024.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not allocated any funding to Decolonise Fest.
The Arts Council England, which awards funding independently of the government, has awarded a grant of £18,808 in 2025.
In addition, the Decolonise Festival has also received £3,500 funding via the PRS Foundation, a charity funding new music and talent development that receives Art Council Funding.
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 14 January 2026 to Question 103782 on Ministers: Official Cars, what is the estimated, non-granular aggregate expenditure by the Government Car Service on official cars for civil servants in the Cabinet Office in the last 12 months.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer provided to Question 103782. The Government Car Service (GCS) does not invoice separately for ministerial or civil servant use.
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 14 January 2026 to Question 103782 on Ministers: Official Cars, which team within the Government Car Service prepares the financial accounts for vehicles provided to Government Departments.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The finance team.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to Ofwat’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2025-28, how much Ofwat has spent on external equality, diversity and inclusion training since July 2024; via which suppliers; and what the estimated cost of mandatory EDI training is in 2026.
Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The total expenditure on EDI training since July 2024 to date is £7,495 (not including VAT).
These details can be broken down as requested:
Name of supplier | Session topic | Cost |
Andrew Pain Ltd | Men's mental health | £800 |
Champions UK | Black History Month | £1,200 |
Powered by Diversity | A monthly session on a range of EDI topics (i.e. International Women's Day, Time to Talk Day) | £2,000 |
Wellity Global | Supporting neurodivergent individuals through times of change and stress | £3,495 |
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 16 January 2026 to Question 103795 on Government Property Agency: Empty Property, if he will list the addresses of the 13 vacant properties and their last Government occupier.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Details of vacant space across the government estate, aggregated from departmental submissions, are published annually in the State of the Estate Report. This includes total square metre figures by department, but not individual property-level occupancy or address data.
Members of the public can view information on vacant or surplus government-owned properties via the Government Property Finder: https://www.gov.uk/find-government-property
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 transparency data entitled the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for government’s most important contracts, Data for July to September 2025 for all departments, published on 25 December 2025, whether the KPI of 0% gender pay gap for the contract entitled Approach Social Work C24 - C26 supplied by The Frontline Organisation applies to all aspects of her Department's work.
Answered by Olivia Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The performance data for July to September 2025, published on 25 December 2025, for the contract titled ‘Approach Social Work C24 - C26 (con_20840)’, and specifically in relation to the ‘Key Performance Indicator con_20840-KPI-SV’ supplied by The Frontline Organisation reporting a 0% gender pay gap, is only in relation to this contract and is not for all aspects of the department.
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 16 January 2026 to Question 103786 on Admiralty House: Official Residence, which business unit of the Cabinet Office determines which individual civil servants may use Admiralty House for accommodation; and whether his Department holds data on those civil servants that have used the accommodation in Admiralty House, including the dates of such use.
Answered by Anna Turley - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Admiralty House is occasionally used overnight by Civil Servants where there is operational need. This is in-line with the usage of Admiralty House across successive governments. Temporary overnight stays require permission from the Prime Minister’s Office.
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 4 September 2025, to Question 70489 on Government Communication Service: Marketing, and with reference to paragraph 211 of the Cabinet Office Guide to Parliamentary Work, for what reason the information was released under the Freedom of Information Act but not disclosed to Parliament.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:
https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125
While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.
I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.
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 4 September 2025, to Question 74206, on Government Departments: Social Media, which external firms are used to procure social media influencers across government under CCS Framework RM6125 – Lot 1 End.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:
https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125
While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.
I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.
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 Freedom of Information response by the Cabinet Office, Ref: FOI2025/18068, of 5 December 2025, if he will publish the Guidance for Influencer Marketing.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Influencers have proven to be effective in reaching audiences that traditional marketing channels find hard to reach.
Influencer work is supported primarily via the agencies OmniGov and Pablo Unlimited via the Campaign Solutions 2 framework, detailed at the following link:
https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6125
While there were no immediate plans to release the guidance at the time of Question 70489, increased public interest in this topic has now led us to conclude that the public interest favours its release.
I can confirm that the Guidance for Influencer Marketing will be placed in the House Library.