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 any exit payment to Oliver Robbins will require a Ministerial Direction.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 April to question 128144.
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 the dismissal of Oliver Robbins followed due process.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 22 April to question 128144.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, further to the oral statement on China and security of 4 March 2026, if HM Government will now make it their policy to add China to the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
As set out in the National Security Act 2023, the Secretary of State may make a specification under the enhanced tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) where they consider it is reasonably necessary to do so to protect the safety or interests of the United Kingdom. As I set out in the House of Commons on 4 March 2026, FIRS is a relatively new tool, and this Government is seeking to ensure that we can derive the maximum operational capability from it. We look very carefully at which countries should be on the enhanced tier of the scheme, factoring in a broad range of considerations. We have not made any final decisions as to whether we will place other countries on the enhanced tier, but we keep that under very close review. Any changes to the countries listed will be brought to Parliament in the usual way.
Asked by: Andrew Cooper (Labour - Mid Cheshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the use of the N9M protocol; and if she will issue guidance on its vulnerabilities to foreign actors accessing any data processed using N9M.
Answered by Kanishka Narayan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This government remains committed to ensuring that new and existing technologies are safely deployed across the UK. Whilst the government does not routinely carry out assessments of software or products it is working with industry to support them in making independent assessments about the security of software and products. To this end, the National Cyber Security Centre has set up Cyber Resilience Test Facilities (CRTFs) that will deliver assurance for a wide range of internet connected products and services. This will also enable industry and government services to independently audit and assess products and services in a consistent way.
The N9M protocol is used within vehicles. Last year, the government laid the Road Vehicles (Type-Approval) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2025 that mandated internationally recognised requirements for vehicle cyber security. Vehicle manufacturers, including those that use N9M protocol, must assess and mitigate for cyber-security threats and vulnerabilities, as part of the whole vehicle evaluation for new vehicles required to obtain GB type-approval.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2026, to Question 103288, on Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Pakistan, and further to Deposited Paper DEP2026-0218, committed on 27 February 2026, what was discussed in the six meetings with the Government of Pakistan; and how this related to departmental responsibilities.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rt Hon Member, as a former Foreign Secretary, will know that it is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private diplomatic meetings.
Paragraph 16 of the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance), sets out the types of external engagement that would not automatically be classed as meetings, including events such as conventions and conferences.
The former Minister has, however, requested that his transparency return has been updated to include the meeting with UNHCR.
Asked by: James Cleverly (Conservative - Braintree)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the answer of 14 January 2026, to Question 103288, and further to Deposited Paper DEP2026-0218, committed on 27 February 2026, for what reason the (a) Overseas Pakistanis Convention and (b) external meeting with UNHCR was not listed in the quarterly transparency return of the Minister of meetings with external organisations.
Answered by Samantha Dixon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Rt Hon Member, as a former Foreign Secretary, will know that it is the long-standing practice of successive governments not to comment on private diplomatic meetings.
Paragraph 16 of the Guidance on Ministers’ meetings with external organisations and individuals (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministers-overseas-travel-and-meetings-publication-guidance), sets out the types of external engagement that would not automatically be classed as meetings, including events such as conventions and conferences.
The former Minister has, however, requested that his transparency return has been updated to include the meeting with UNHCR.
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, with reference the UK Security Vetting document entitled DV - Guidance Pack for Applicants, updated 23 September 2024, whether Lord Mandelson's Developed Vetting security clearance application was (a) awarded, (b) awarded with aftercare, (c) clearance awarded with caveats and/or restrictions, (d) refused, or (e) clearance refused resulting in a review.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 20 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
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, with reference to the letter to appointment of 4 February 2025 on page 76 of Volume 1 of the Government response to the Humble Address on Lord Mandelson, whether Lord Mandelson's requirement to have DV+STRAP security clearance was STRAP level (a) 1, (b) 2, (c) 3a and (d) 3b.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 20 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
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, with reference to the letter to appointment of 4 February 2025 on page 76 of the Volume 1 of the Government response to the Humble Address on Lord Mandelson, whether Lord Mandelson fully passed his STRAP clearance process.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 20 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.
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, on what date Ministers in her Department first became aware that Lord Mandelson had not received full security vetting clearance.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Prime Minister on 20 April, and his answers to the questions raised in response, including his commitment that the Government would continue to comply with the instructions of Parliament in the Humble Address of 4 February.