Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment his Department has made of the risk of Capita holding over £3 billion in Government contracts; and whether he plans to invoke the supplier debarment provisions of the Procurement Act 2023.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
Cabinet Office continues to manage the government’s relationship with Capita, including monitoring its performance on a cross-government basis. As a strategic supplier to the government, Capita has a high level of oversight and risk management by the Cabinet Office, which is underpinned by an Memorandum of Understanding. As part of this, Capita provides transparency on their financial health and corporate strategy as well as engage with annual Corporate Resolution Planning.
Under the Procurement Act 2023, suppliers can be excluded from procurements on certain grounds, including serious breaches of contract and unremedied poor performance. The Act also empowers the Government to investigate a supplier for potential debarment, which could affect the supplier's eligibility to bid for future public contracts. There are currently no live debarment investigations relating to Capita.
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 creators’ template contract used by the Cabinet Office and its creative agency.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
There are no plans to publish the contract template due to commercial sensitivities.
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, pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2026 to Question 115117 on Jonathan Powell, for what reason the direct ministerial appointment of John Powell as Special Envoy in early August 2024 was not announced until 6 September 2024.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Jonathan Powell was appointed in line with standard procedure, and his appointment announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many cases of suspected misuse of Flexible Support Fund equipment have been identified in the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
Work coaches must ensure all awards made under the Flexible Support Fund (FSF) are reasonable and represent good value for money in terms of improving employment prospects and reducing the time spent on benefits.
Where a work coach identifies concerns that FSF funded equipment may have been misused, this information is recorded on the customer’s Universal Credit account and considered as part of ongoing engagement, including when determining the appropriateness of any future FSF support.
Misuse of FSF support does not always indicate fraud. Where there is evidence that misuse may involve deliberate dishonesty or a criminal offence, work coaches are required to make a formal referral to the Department’s fraud team, who determine whether further investigation or enforcement action is appropriate.
The Department does not hold central records on the number of cases of suspected misuse of FSF funded equipment. Information is captured at individual customer level and is not collated nationally for reporting purposes.
A new digital FSF application system, being rolled out nationally, will strengthen oversight of FSF spend by providing improved data and enabling more detailed scrutiny of awards.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether Peter Mandelson has a (a) Ministerial and (b) Civil Service pension.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In accordance with the Government Financial Reporting Manual, since 2005, information regarding the remuneration and pension interests of Ministers is published in the annual Resource Accounts (as then named) of the relevant departments for the periods an individual served in a qualifying role.
Historical information concerning Lord Mandelson’s Ministerial pension membership during his periods of government service can be found within the relevant departmental annual reports and accounts dating to 2005/6.
Regarding civil service pensions, the Cabinet Office does not disclose personal information relating to specific individuals' pension arrangements. Such information constitutes personal data and is protected under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation. It is a long-standing policy that individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding their financial affairs and pension entitlements, disclosing such details to a third party would conflict with data protection principles.
Asked by: Mike Wood (Conservative - Kingswinford and South Staffordshire)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Cabinet Office or 10 Downing Street have asked former special advisers to provide material they personally hold as part of the return for the Humble Address on Lord Mandelson, and whether the fact they have left Crown Service affects such requests.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer you to the Government's statement and release of information on 11th March, providing an update on the response to the Humble Address. The Government is working 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 19 March 2025 to Question 37424 on Parliamentary and Political Service Honours Committee: Public Appointments, in how many cases have reserve lists been used to appoint a member to an honours committee since July 2024..
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
Reserve lists have been used in one instance to appoint two members to an honours committee since July 2024.
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 20 February 2026, to Question 112176, on Public Appointments: Standards, whether his policy intent is to further restrict the use of (a) Whatsapp, (b) Signal and (c) similar applications, on (i) corporate and (ii) non-corporate communication devices by (1) Ministers, (2) special adviser and (3) civil servants.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
This government has a robust set of security policies and guidance in place that apply to Ministers, Special Advisors and Civil Servants, which are kept under consideration, including ‘Using Non-Corporate Communication Channels for Government Business’, which provides a framework for using these applications on both corporate and non-corporate devices. The Government is considering the way that different non-corporate communication channels are being used, as part of its commitment to raise information security standards.
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 20 February 2026, to Question 110020, on Cabinet Office: Public Appointments, if the Cabinet Office will make it their policy to update the Direct Ministerial Appointments portal to include the full details and terms of each serving Direct Ministerial Appointment that was appointed before the creation of the portal.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The responsibility for the publication of information on Direct Ministerial Appointments rests with individual sponsor departments, as it has done under successive administrations. Departments should add all existing DMAs to the portal.
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 20 February 2026, to Question 112168, on Government, if he will list the relevant stakeholders who were consulted in Summer 2025.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the answer given to HL15004.