Mike Wood MP: written questions 2025
1186 published records · newest first.
Written questions
UK Space AgencyDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88704More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled UK space sector bolstered with government reforms to boost growth and cut red tape, published on 20 August 2025, what the estimated annual s
Answer: Work is underway to design the new unit. This will include exploring the extent to which the merger will enable the unit to go further than the 5.6% DSIT-wide efficiencies by 2028/29 target. Designing a more efficient organisation will reduce running cost...
Answered 26 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Digital Service: Gender and SexDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88703More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 13 May 2025 to Question 50225 on Government Digital Service: Gender and Sex, whether any (a) diversity staff network and (b) external organisation advised the
Answer: No diversity staff networks advised GDS in developing the Design System guidance. GOV.UK Design System guidance has been iterated with input from specialists external to the Government Digital Service, including the Government Statistical Service and the ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordEmily MiddletonDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88702More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the salary is of the Director General for Digital Centre Design.
Answer: The salary of the Director General for Digital Centre Design is published in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s transparency data, which is available on data.gov.uk. The published salary range for this role is £150,000 to £154,999. Th...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDisinformationDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88701More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what is his Department’s definition of disinformation is.
Answer: The UK government defines disinformation as the deliberate creation and spreading of false and/or manipulated information that is intended to deceive and mislead people, either for the purposes of causing harm, or for political, personal or financial gain...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Service: EqualityDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88700More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68774 on Civil Service: Equality, how attendance at the Humanists Convention engages his Department’s remit and responsibilities.
Answer: The Civil Service People Plan 2024-27 sets the standard for inclusive workplaces where people achieve their full potential. We want the Civil Service and the department to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve. This includes diversity of faith...
Answered 19 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordElectronic Government: LogosDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88699More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81183 on Electronic Government: Logos, what was the total cost to (a) Cabinet Office and (b)DSIT of the redesign.
Answer: Three contracts were awarded with external agencies to support the redesign of the GOV.UK brand, in December 2023, March 2024 and July 2024. Expenditure under these contracts totalled £532,000. Of this, £421,750 was paid by Cabinet Office and £110,250 was...
Answered 21 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordDepartment for Science, Innovation and Technology: DisinformationDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88698More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84243 on DSIT: Disinformation, and to the Answer of 30 January 2025 to Question 25857 on Written Questions: Government Responses, i
Answer: Details of contracts between DSIT and third-party contractors used to address online information threats are available on GOV.UK:Contract OneContract TwoContract ThreeContract Four
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordEmily MiddletonDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88697More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether the Director General for Digital Centre Design has been involved in procurement decisions in her role as a member of the programme board for Test, Learn and Grow.
Answer: Emily Middleton has had no involvement in procurement decisions related to the Cabinet Office Test Learn and Grow Programme. Ms Middleton was invited to join the programme board in February 2025, alongside representatives of other departments. This was in...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Service: EqualityDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88696More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July 2025 to Question 68774 on Civil Service: Equality, whether there was a business case for the purchase of rainbow pins.
Answer: A business case for the rainbow pins was approved by the Permanent Secretary (under delegated powers from the Secretary of State). This decision was reviewed when the government guidance on branded merchandise was introduced in May 2025 and was not taken ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Mobile PhonesDepartment for Science, Innovation and TechnologyTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88695More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many different (a) iOS and (b) Android apps are run by government departments.
Answer: There is currently no central register of apps across government.
Answered 20 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordEmployment Rights Bill: Trade UnionsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88694More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the potential cost of the requirement in the Employment Rights Bill to give facility time to trade union equality representatives to (a) public and (b) private sector emplo
Answer: The Employment Rights Bill creates a new statutory right for equality representatives to take reasonable paid time off to fulfil their duties. These representatives play a key role in raising awareness and promoting equal rights, including arranging train...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordStamp Advisory CommitteeDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88693More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2025, to Question 64917 on Stamp Advisory Committee, whether papers for that Committee are held by officials in his Department.
Answer: The Stamp Advisory Committee advises Royal Mail on future stamp designs. The Postal Museum’s online catalogue lists copies of Stamp Advisory Committee minutes which are available to the public for research in line with Royal Mail’s retention policy.
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCompanies House: Recognition of StatesDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88692More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 22 October 2025, to Question 82332 on Companies: Registration, for what reason Companies House recognises nations that the UK Government does not itself recognise.
Answer: The composition of the list of nationalities permitted for the purposes of company filings is a practical measure to ensure that the nationalities of directors are recorded consistently in the Register of Companies and are transparent to users of the Regi...
Answered 13 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordJeffrey EpsteinDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88691More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2025 to Question 84210 on Jeffery Epstein, whether records held by Integrated Corporate Services for that period are held in (a) electronic and (b) hard copy format
Answer: Records for that period are held in electronic format.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordUnite: Conference Centres and HotelsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88690More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 24 October 2025 to Question 82331 on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, what steps the Certification Officer is taking to obtain (a) documents and (b) digital information f
Answer: The Certification Officer has appointed an inspector to carry out the inspection in accordance with the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. Under this process, the inspector has the statutory authority to require the production of r...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordUnite: Conference Centres and HotelsDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88689More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the answer of 24 October 2025, to Question 82331, on Unite: Conference Centres and Hotels, when he expects the Certification Officer to publish the conclusion of the inspection; if he will
Answer: The Certification Officer is required to publish a final report following an inspection, which includes the name of the inspector appointed to any such inspection. While the legislation does not specify a timeline for publication, it is expected that the ...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordTaxation: Electronic GovernmentTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88688More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 8 July 2025 to Question HL8787 on Taxation: Electronic Government, for what reason the functionality of HMRC IT systems does not allow taxpayers to submit their Making Tax Digital rep
Answer: Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax requires users to use software to keep digital tax records, submit quarterly updates of income and expenditure and submit a tax return. HMRC’s Personal and Business Tax Accounts are not able to provide this level of...
Answered 14 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordAffordable Housing: FinanceMinistry of Housing, Communities and Local GovernmentTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88687More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 9 July 2025 to Question HL8844 on Affordable Housing: Finance and pursuant to the Answer of 3 November 2025 to Question 78177 on Affordable Housin
Answer: At the Spending Review, the government announced £39 billion, in nominal terms, for a new Social and Affordable Homes Programme (SAHP) over 10 years from 2026-27 to 2035-36.Economic appraisal for the SAHP business case was carried out following HMT Green ...
Answered 21 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordBank Notes: DesignTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88686More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to her Department's document entitled Financial relationship between HM Treasury and the Bank of England: Memorandum of Understanding, published in February 2025 and pursuant to the Answer of 14 July
Answer: The Bank of England is responsible for all aspects of the design, production, and issuance of banknotes, including the selection of characters, design features, and security measures. The Bank of England is required to seek HM Treasury approval only for t...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCoinage: DesignTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88685More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 21 October 2025 to Question 81881 on Coinage: Design, whether the (a) Royal Mint Advisory Committee, (b) Sub-Committee on the Selection of Themes and (c) her Department have issued guidance
Answer: The Royal Mint Advisory Committee advises the Chancellor of the Exchequer (in her capacity as Master of the Mint) and His Majesty the King on the themes and designs of new coins. Committee members are appointed for their distinguished expertise in areas i...
Answered 17 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordGovernment Departments: Cost EffectivenessTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88684More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 8 November 2024 to Question 11978 on Government Departments: Cost Effectiveness, if her Department holds data that breaks down how the savings were delivered by each department.
Answer: All savings and investments announced at the July statement in 2024 were factored into the departmental budgets. Departments are responsible for managing spend within that budget.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordRevenue and Customs: Cabinet OfficeTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88683More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2025 to Question 26828 on Cabinet Office: Revenue and Customs, what the legal basis is to permit the sharing of confidential information on ministers’ tax affairs between (a) Cab
Answer: Data sharing between HMRC and other departments is considered on a case-by-case basis, to comply with HMRC’s obligations under its duty of confidentiality and other information law, including the UK GDPR. HMRC supports other government departments in thei...
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordCivil Servants: Redundancy PayTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88682More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to paragraph 2.43 of the Spring Statement 2025 and pursuant to the answer of 22 October 2025 to Question 81329 on Civil Service: Redundancy, how much of the £150 million government employee exit schem
Answer: The £150m government employee exit funding was allocated at Spending Review 2025 across 2025/26 and 2026/27. Information on how much departments have spent will be published in departmental Annual Reports & Accounts.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordLobbying: Official HospitalityTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88681More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85917 on Lobbying: Official Hospitality, if she will list (a) the receptions her Department has held in the offices of consultant lobbying firms since 4 July 202
Answer: The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the department have not held any receptions in the offices of consultant lobbying firms since 4 July 2024.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament recordNational Wealth Fund: Workplace PensionsTreasuryTabled 10 Nov 2025AnsweredUIN 88680More
Question: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2025 to Question 85189 on National Wealth Fund: Workplace Pensions, and with reference to page 123 of her Department's document entitled National Wealth Fund Limited's Annual Rep
Answer: I refer the Honourable Member to my answer given on 4 November to PQ UIN 85189.
Answered 18 Nov 2025
Original Parliament record
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