Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of SEND delivery in primary schools with single-form entry.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The quality of teaching is the single most important in-school factor for improving pupil outcomes, and it is particularly important for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality teachers exist everywhere across the system, including in single-form primaries.
To ensure that all teachers, teaching assistants, support staff and leaders across early years, schools and post-16 settings can be trained to support pupils with SEND, we are investing £200 million of new funding to upskill staff and promote inclusive practice. In addition, we are investing £1.8 billion for local area partnerships to develop and deliver an Experts at Hand offer to mainstream settings, including small and single-form entry primary schools. They will have access to specialist education and health professionals who will work alongside staff to build capacity, support earlier intervention and strengthen inclusive practise.
The department is also providing £1.6 billion of additional funding to mainstream settings through an Inclusive Mainstream Fund, to help settings identify commonly occurring needs and take meaningful steps to improve everyday support. We have published guidance to support schools to develop their initial inclusion strategies, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-mainstream-fund-support-for-school-leaders/developing-an-inclusion-strategy-using-the-inclusive-mainstream-fund.
We are also proposing to introduce new National Inclusion Standards to set out what ordinarily-available provision should be in every setting across the 0 to 25 system, as well as the evidence-based tools, strategies and approaches for educators to draw on to identify and support children and young people with SEND.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment his department has made of the reasons for the decline in the number of planning permissions awarded for developments of between 10 and 49 homes.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook - Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
Planning applications statistics make clear that there has been a small reduction in the percentage of homes in planning permissions that are on sites of between 10-49 homes, from 11% in 2022-23 to 10% in 2024-25.
The reasons for this marginal reduction are multifaceted, but an important factor is the fact that sites of this size are primarily built out by small and medium-sized (SME) housebuilders who face challenges accessing finance and land and are disproportionately impacted by onerous regulatory burdens.
As a government we are clear that ramping up housing delivery requires us to diversify the housebuilding market. Integral to such diversification is not merely arresting but reversing the decline of SME housebuilders that has taken place over recent decades. That is why we have acted to support them by increasing their access to land, providing further financial assistance, and easing the burden of regulation.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to allow asylum seekers to register with their most local police station.
Answered by Alex Norris - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
There is currently no policy of requiring asylum seekers to register at a police station. Asylum seekers may be required to report to an immigration reporting centre or police station as a condition imposed under section 71 of the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 (asylum seekers with leave to enter or remain) or under Schedule 10 to the Immigration Act 2016 (asylum seekers on immigration bail).
There are a number of factors that go into determining the location a person is required to report. The circumstances where a person may report to a police station rather than an immigration reporting centre are outlined in the Reporting and Offender Management guidance which can be found on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, in relation to this year's delays to Pearson exam results, what steps are being taken to ensure that similar delays do not occur in future years.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools rightly expect results to be delivered on time, and Pearson Education Limited has fully apologised for failing to return these results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils, parents and carers. Pearson confirmed that their GCSEs, A levels, and vocational qualifications operate through separate systems and processes and are not affected.
We will use all the provisions in the contract to ensure that Pearson is held to account for their failures in delivery and will explore all possible options for future delivery. The government has confirmed that there will be a full independent review into how such serious failings have occurred. Further details and terms of reference will be set out shortly.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, will an independent review be undertaken into the management of this year's KS2 SATs marking process.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
Schools rightly expect results to be delivered on time, and Pearson Education Limited has fully apologised for failing to return these results on time and for the impact on schools, pupils, parents and carers. Pearson confirmed that their GCSEs, A levels, and vocational qualifications operate through separate systems and processes and are not affected.
We will use all the provisions in the contract to ensure that Pearson is held to account for their failures in delivery and will explore all possible options for future delivery. The government has confirmed that there will be a full independent review into how such serious failings have occurred. Further details and terms of reference will be set out shortly.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of financial insecurity on birthrates.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Home Office has made no recent assessments of the potential impact of financial insecurity on birthrates.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, further to the written answer of 25 March 2026 on the Valuation Office Agency's reclassification of flexible office spaces, what estimate her department has made of the change in business rates revenue from the reclassification of serviced offices as single properties.
Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with HM Treasury)
Per the written answer on 25 March 2026, at this time, there is no sector-wide review of serviced office assessments underway. The Valuation Office (VO) is addressing properties where they have received legal advice, or where unit of assessment issues are brought to its attention. Where the VO is required to determine the unit of assessment, it does so on a case-by-case basis, with all facts being considered.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support single-form entry primary schools with reduced student numbers with funding levels.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities.
All schools have benefited from the increase to core funding allocated through the schools national funding formula (NFF) in the 2026/27 financial year, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £152,700. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.
The sparsity factor in the NFF provides additional support for schools that are small and remote. Eligible primary schools attract up to £58,600 in sparsity funding in the 2026/27 financial year.
We recognise the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. The lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels, to aid their planning, and is particularly important in giving schools with falling rolls time to re-organise their staffing and costs.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels of pupil numbers on single-form entry primary schools.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The government recognises the essential role that small schools play in their communities.
All schools have benefited from the increase to core funding allocated through the schools national funding formula (NFF) in the 2026/27 financial year, including the NFF lump sum, which is set at £152,700. The lump sum is particularly beneficial to small schools more reliant on an element of funding that is not driven by pupil numbers.
The sparsity factor in the NFF provides additional support for schools that are small and remote. Eligible primary schools attract up to £58,600 in sparsity funding in the 2026/27 financial year.
We recognise the pressures caused by demographic changes in some areas. The lagged funding system, where schools are funded on the basis of their pupil numbers in the previous October census, helps to give schools more certainty over funding levels, to aid their planning, and is particularly important in giving schools with falling rolls time to re-organise their staffing and costs.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 July 2026 to Question 13580, when her Department will publish the economic and equality impact assessments for the earned settlement system.
Answered by Mike Tapp
The consultation for the earned settlement model, as proposed in ‘A Fairer Pathway to Settlement’, was open to the public between 20 November 2025 and 12 February 2026.
Once the final model has been decided by the Home Secretary, the economic and equality impact assessments will be published.
We received over 200,000 responses from the public and organisations and are now considering all responses received. This will help inform the development of the final earned settlement model.