Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, is Lord Mandelson currently in receipt of a government salary.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
No.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress the MRS has made in delivering mechanistic research into ME/CFS.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
We do not know what ‘MRS’ refers to in this context. The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). A limited amount of mechanistic research is funded through the NIHR, but the majority of mechanistic research is funded through the Medical Research Council (MRC), a UK Research and Innovation Council sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Mechanistic research into myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, is within the remit of the MRC.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department plans to promote the new road safety strategy to the public.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Injuries and fatalities from road collisions caused by driving are unacceptable, and this Government will work hard to prevent these tragedies for all road users.
That is why on 7 January 2026, we published our new Road Safety Strategy, setting out our vision for a safer future on our roads for all.
The Government’s THINK! road safety campaign delivers paid advertising to change attitudes and behaviours among those at most risk on the road, currently focused on the priority issues of speed, drink driving and drug driving. THINK! campaigns will play a key role in encouraging safer road user behaviours to support delivery of the strategy.
This will include paid campaign activity to raise awareness of any potential significant changes to road safety legislation, with the introduction of these potential changes also supported by wider communications including via DfT social channels and GOV.UK, media engagement and partner and stakeholder networks.
As our road environment and technologies evolve, providing education for all road users throughout their lifetime is vital to improving road safety. As announced in the strategy to support a Lifelong Learning approach in the UK, the Government will publish for the first time national guidance on the development and delivery of road safety education, training and publicity. Alongside this, the Government will publish a manual to support the implementation of a Lifelong Learning approach for road safety.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether he plans to reassess compensation amounts under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Nick Thomas-Symonds - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
In line with recommendations of the Infected Blood Inquiry, the Government has publicly consulted on proposed changes to the compensation scheme. The consultation closed on 22nd January, and we will publish our response within 12 weeks of the consultation’s closing date. The Government is keen to prioritise amendments to the compensation scheme as recommended, while continuing to focus on the swift delivery of compensation to all victims of this scandal.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Section 22 of the Department's White Paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing, published on 26 January 2026, how does her Department define dangerous behaviour; and what criteria do they use to identify it.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
There is no one specific definition of ‘dangerous behaviour’ or any exhaustive list of the criteria for identifying it, as this changes as crime changes and evolves. However, the College of Policing (CoP) provide a non-statutory definition of Potentially Dangerous Persons (PDPs) which states that:
'A PDP is a person who is not currently managed under one of the three Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) categories, but reasonable grounds exist for believing that there is a risk of them committing an offence or offences that will cause serious harm.’
The MAPPA categories are explained Multi-agency public protection arrangements (MAPPA) | College of Policing
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her department has given to the potential benefits of changing Pupil Premium rules so that funding goes directly towards supporting the eligible child’s care.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The purpose of pupil premium funding is to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.
Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including previously looked after children.
To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Under the ‘wider strategies’ category this can include supporting pupil’s social and emotional needs.
Previously looked after children and young people under adoption orders, special guardianship orders and child arrangements orders are eligible for funding for therapy through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment has her department made of the potential benefits to allowing parents of previously looked after children to make financial contributions to the Pupil Premium for therapy.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The purpose of pupil premium funding is to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.
Pupil premium is not a personal budget for individual pupils. It is for schools to decide how to allocate the funding, after assessing the needs of their disadvantaged cohort, including previously looked after children.
To ensure that pupil premium is focused on effective approaches to raising the educational attainment of disadvantaged pupils, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'. Under the ‘wider strategies’ category this can include supporting pupil’s social and emotional needs.
Previously looked after children and young people under adoption orders, special guardianship orders and child arrangements orders are eligible for funding for therapy through the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund.
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 help ensure that the Pupil Premium is spent on supporting the needs of the eligible children’s needs.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in 2026/27 to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.
To ensure pupil premium is focused on effective approaches, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'.
Schools with more than 5 eligible pupils must publish a strategy statement annually on their school website using the department template. Schools are held accountable for the outcomes they achieve with all their funding, including through Ofsted inspections and by governors and trustees, and pupil premium is no exception.
An evaluation of pupil premium and recovery premium, published in March 2025, found that overall schools were positive about the impact of the funding, and 85% agreed that having pupil premium meant they had a better strategy for meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils. The evaluation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-and-recovery-premium-evaluation.
A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in October 2025 found that generally schools’ planned spending of pupil premium aligned with the challenges identified, and that schools used a variety of evidence sources to support their choice of approaches. The report is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/pupil-premium-statement-research-project.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her department has made of the efficacy of schools’ use of the Pupil Premium to support eligible children.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is providing £3.2 billion of pupil premium funding in 2026/27 to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged pupils in state-funded schools in England.
To ensure pupil premium is focused on effective approaches, schools must use their pupil premium in line with the evidence-informed 'menu of approaches'.
Schools with more than 5 eligible pupils must publish a strategy statement annually on their school website using the department template. Schools are held accountable for the outcomes they achieve with all their funding, including through Ofsted inspections and by governors and trustees, and pupil premium is no exception.
An evaluation of pupil premium and recovery premium, published in March 2025, found that overall schools were positive about the impact of the funding, and 85% agreed that having pupil premium meant they had a better strategy for meeting the needs of disadvantaged pupils. The evaluation is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-and-recovery-premium-evaluation.
A report published by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in October 2025 found that generally schools’ planned spending of pupil premium aligned with the challenges identified, and that schools used a variety of evidence sources to support their choice of approaches. The report is available here: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/pupil-premium-statement-research-project.
Asked by: Max Wilkinson (Liberal Democrat - Cheltenham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to Part 3 of her Department's White paper entitled From local to national: a new model for policing White Paper, published on 26 January 2026, what her planned timetable is for the review of the police funding formula.
Answered by Sarah Jones - Minister of State (Home Office)
The White Paper represents the most significant reforms to policing for nearly 200 years. The reforms to our policing system set out in the White Paper will have significant consequences for the way policing is funded in future.
Changes to police governance, force mergers and the creation of the National Police Service require a new way of allocating funding between forces, aligned with these new structures. We will therefore review the police funding formula once the implementation of police reform is underway so that the new formula reflects the new police force structures.