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 pages 131–132 of the Cabinet Office Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, what the annual cost is of operating the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists; whether registration fee income was netted off against those costs; and what net (a) surplus and (b) deficit was recorded in each of the last three financial years.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
In each of the last three years - two of which were under the last government - the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists has recorded a consistent net deficit as shown below:
| 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
| £’000 | £’000 | £’000 |
Annual cost of operating the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists | 321 | 324 | 353 |
Registration Fee income was netted off against those costs | -212 | -217 | -246 |
Net Deficit/Cost | 109 | 107 | 107 |
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 Annual report and accounts 2024-2025, HC1372, 23 October 2025, whether any of the £90 million of Crown Commercial Service dividend income retained by his Department was (a) passed back to CCS, (b) used to subsidise its operations and (c) used to reduce management fees paid by departments and public bodies using CCS frameworks.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
None of the £90 million in Crown Commercial Service (CCS) dividend income retained by the Cabinet Office was returned to CCS. Consequently, none of the dividend was used to subsidise its operations and none was used to reduce management fees paid by departments and public bodies using CCS frameworks.
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 18 November 2025, to Question 88660, on Elections: Proof of Identity, what is the policy of Government Social Research on using the terms (a) sex and (b) gender.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government Social Research Profession is a professional membership body for social researchers working across government. It supports professional social researchers employed directly by departments through providing opportunities for learning, development, career support and technical development.
The Government Social Research Profession is part of the Government Analysis Function, which sets expectations for analysis, as set out in the Government Functional Standard. In using the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’, government analysts should have regard to relevant data harmonisation standards published by the Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service.
The Office for National Statistics and the Government Statistical Service are currently partway through a review of their harmonised standards. That review is focused on developing updated and new harmonised standards for Sex, Gender Identity, Disability and Ethnicity
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will publish the Freedom of Information Act disclosure released by the Government Actuary’s Department on 4 August 2025 with reference Internal Review response to FOI252626.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government Actuary’s Department released information on 4 August 2025 in relation to a Freedom of Information request. The content of that response is provided alongside this PQ response.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many Freedom of Information requests his Department has received relating to the Government Car Service since 1 April 2025; and how many have been (a) refused and (b) disclosed.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Government Car Service (GCS) transferred to the Cabinet Office from the Department for Transport, as a result of a machinery of government change, on 1st April 2025. Freedom of Information (FOI) requests relating to GCS prior to that date were answered by the Department for Transport.
Since 1 April 2025, the Cabinet Office has received 15 FOI requests relating to the GCS. Of the 11 requests that have been closed, five requests were granted in full and one request was refused in full. Other outcomes were that the information was already planned for publication, that the information was not held, or that responding to the request would have exceeded the cost limit.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he takes steps to ascertain whether Ministers occupy official Ministerial residences as primary residences.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Hon Member to PQ 95895, PQ 81873, and HL 9337.
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 Answers of 9 December 2025 to Question 96208 on Public Appointments: Pay and Question 94701 on Baroness Shafik, how many direct ministerial appointments are currently in post in the Cabinet Office and Downing Street; and if he will set out their title, responsibilities and remuneration.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Honoural Member to the answer given to PQ UIN 98100.
The responsibilities of these organisations and postholders can be found in their published terms of reference on GOV.UK
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 19 November 2025, to Question 90730, on Ministers: Official Cars, if he will provide equivalent figures for how much has been invoiced to each department in each month since July 2024 for non-Ministerial cars provided by the Government Car Service; and how much has been paid through an internal transfer for the Cabinet Office in each month since July 2024 for the same.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
I refer the Honourable Gentleman to the answer provided on Question 90730. Additionally, an invoice has been sent to the NCA for £9,694.47 for services rendered in October 2025.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many times the Resilience and Security Committee met between April 2024 and March 2025; and what the attendance record of each member was.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
It is a long-established precedent that information about Cabinet and its Committees, including the discussions that have taken place, how often they have met and attendance, is not normally shared publicly. The list of standing members of the National Security Council (Resilience) Committee can be accessed on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2025 to Question 28585 on Admiralty House, whether the Secretary of State for Defence occupied the residence as a (a) primary or (b) secondary residence from September to November 2024; and whether he occupied the same flat as subsequently occupied by the then Deputy Prime Minister.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
As has been the case under successive administrations, the allocation of official Ministerial residences, including Admiralty House, is determined by the Prime Minister on the grounds of security or to enable Ministers to better perform their official duties. During the period from September to November 2024, the Secretary of State for Defence occupied Admiralty House on a time-limited basis. The property was used on a second residence basis.