Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 19th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are backing councils with extra capital investment, including in Staffordshire, but we need councils to work with us to create the provision that children desperately need. We are also strengthening accountability. We have heard from parents time and again that their voices are not heard and that change does not happen quickly. That is why making inclusion a key area of Ofsted inspection for the very first time is central to building parents’ confidence.

It would be remiss of me not to remind the House what Reform has had to say about support for children with SEND and their parents: it has said that this is about naughty children, bad parenting, and “a class of victims”. That is just some of the language that Reform Members have chosen to use. I invite them and others to go and speak to parents of children with SEND, and understand just how desperate things have become and the change that is needed.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

Does the Secretary of State accept that cancelling an £18-million, purpose-built, 152-place SEND school in Buckinghamshire, due to open in 2028, and replacing it with just £8 million over three years will inevitably increase reliance on high-cost independent placements, worsen outcomes for children with the most acute needs in Buckinghamshire, and ultimately cost the taxpayer more, while failing some of the county’s most vulnerable children?

[Bridget Phillipson]

We are giving councils significant extra capital investment to create places and provision much more quickly than many of them would otherwise have been able to. We are offering most local authorities a choice between continuing with their free school or accepting some alternative funding to deliver the same number of specialist places. Some projects without trusts appointed, which had opening dates very far into the distance, would not have created the places that we need as quickly as we need them. This is about bringing forward the places, giving parents confidence, and making sure that we are not sending children far away from home, which, as the hon. Member correctly identifies, we should not be doing. Children should be able to go to a great local school with their friends, and not travel long distances in taxis.

Early Education and Childcare

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 4th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

My hon. Friend has just reminded us of the value of voting Labour at the last election, and why it is so important to have people like him speaking up for working families across the country. As he mentioned, the childcare entitlement, the investment in free breakfast clubs and making more children eligible for free school meals can make a real difference and help to ensure that every child gets the best start in life.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

Today is my youngest child’s first day at school, so may I put on record my thanks to Chearsley and Haddenham Under Fives for providing exceptional early years education to both my sons, Charlie and Rupert, over recent decades? I mean years—it feels like decades!

There is much to genuinely welcome from the expansion of the childcare revolution that the Minister has outlined today, which was started by the previous Government. However, coalface reports from providers like the Big Top Nursery, which has sites in Waddesdon and Berryfields in my constituency, say that Government funding only just covers or does not quite cover the full cost of them providing the exceptional care and education that they do. The double whammy of the national insurance jobs tax increase makes that all the more difficult, so may I urge the Minister, who has met me before to discuss this subject, to really look at the true cost of providing exceptional education to children in Mid Buckinghamshire, and make the case to the Treasury that the funding needs to be higher?

[Stephen Morgan]

I wish the hon. Gentleman’s children good luck as they start school this week. As I mentioned earlier, in this financial year alone we plan to provide more than £8 billion for early years entitlement—an increase of more than 30% compared with the last financial year. We have also announced the largest increase in the early years pupil premium since its introduction, which is a significant boost, and investment in targeted support for the most disadvantaged in our communities. As I mentioned earlier, we will review funding rates in due course, and I am very happy to meet the hon. Member to discuss these issues.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

We have heard this afternoon from my hon. Friend and so many Members across the House about the urgent need to make improvements for children with SEND. We are laying the foundations with more investment in the system, through both the high needs budget and capital, so we have the places that are needed. There is, of course, much we are doing right now with councils to improve some of the unacceptable waits that parents currently face.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

The superb John Hampden school in Wendover reports that it is running a £109,000 deficit supporting students with significant SEND while they await assessments. However, it is an infant-only school, and the money often does not come through until the pupils have moved up to a junior school. Will the Minister look at how the system is working for infant-only schools, to make the system fairer?

[Catherine McKinnell]

As we have said, we are looking at reforms to the system; we recognise that there are challenges right across the system that we inherited. We know that families face challenges in securing support and that schools face challenges, too. We will look at every detail and announce reforms in the White Paper in the autumn.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 16th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

9. What assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of changes to funding for level 7 apprenticeships on people aged 22 and over.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Janet Daby)]

Apprenticeship starts by young people collapsed under the Conservatives. Labour is rebalancing the system towards young people to help them get on in life by backing them and giving them the skills they need to get jobs and grow our economy.

[Greg Smith]

Over 95,000 apprenticeships are being undertaken in the health, public services and care sector, and NHS Employers and many others have raised concerns about the impact of the Government policy to cease funding for level 7 apprenticeships for those over the age of 22. Can the Minister tell us what plans are in place to ensure that the people supporting all of us and all our constituents are given essential training and support? More particularly, what discussions has she had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care about the impact of this decision on our NHS?

[Janet Daby]

We are encouraging more employers, including the NHS, to invest in upskilling their staff who are over 22 years old and to deliver level 7 apprenticeships where they benefit those businesses and individuals. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training, and there are other training opportunities available at level 7, including non-apprenticeship routes. Our reforms will support 120,000 new training opportunities and up to 13,000 foundation apprenticeship starts. Apprenticeship starts, participation and achievements are all up under Labour, and we are continuing to go much further.

School Teachers’ Review Body: Recommendations

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 22nd May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. The right hon. Member for South West Wiltshire (Dr Murrison) has just walked right across the Floor of the House while the Minister was answering. I cannot believe it. [Interruption.] We are not going to have an argument. I would have hoped that you, as a member of the Panel of Chairs, would respect the rules of the House better.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

I am full of admiration for all the hard-working teachers across my constituency, and indeed the whole country, and my sister-in-law is a secondary-school English teacher, but I have no doubt that every teacher and headteacher watching our proceedings, either live or later, will have had their jaw on the floor when they heard the Minister say that she wants to give them time to plan, but will not tell them what funding they will get to pay for this. It is inconceivable that she does not know the answer to that question, given that a statement on the issue will be published at 1 o’clock. Is she not giving the answer because, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Hertsmere (Sir Oliver Dowden) said, No. 10 has told her not to? Better still, is it because the Department is in a live negotiation—some might say a row—with the Treasury to get that settlement for our teachers?

[Catherine McKinnell]

What a ridiculous question. As the hon. Member has a family member who is a teacher, he should have more respect for the profession and the work that teachers do. He should acknowledge that the time we give schools to plan their budget is way beyond anything that his Government delivered in the last 10 years.

Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 1st April 2025 Commons Chamber

[Janet Daby]

I thank my hon. Friend for her concern and her lobbying. Many Members and organisations have lobbied me on this matter. I appreciate all of the therapeutic providers up and down our country, especially the one in her constituency. Under the Adoption and Children Act 2002, local authorities have a statutory duty to have support services in place for adopted children. As a Government, we will continue to support local authorities to do that.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

On Friday in my surgery, a constituent came to talk to me about her eight-year-old adopted son who was born withdrawing from the drugs that his birth mother took during pregnancy as well as from alcohol abuse. The birth mother also suffered significant physical and emotional abuse. That has left this poor boy with many needs; he has foetal alcohol spectrum disorder, developmental trauma, attachment disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyspraxia, dyslexia and a damaged nervous system. The therapy, play therapy and occupational therapy funded by the adoption and special guardianship support fund is essential for that boy. If there is one thing the Government should do, it is to prioritise children who have those needs. While I welcome the £50 million for the financial year we are just starting, boys like him and thousands of children around the country need not only certainty for the upcoming financial year but long-term certainty that they will get the care and support they need. Will the Minister work with the Treasury to find a long-term settlement, so that the most vulnerable in our society are not in this year in, year out funding trap?

[Janet Daby]

I absolutely hear and recognise the concerns the hon. Member has raised regarding the eight-year-old adopted child. As I said in my statement, the Department has been clear with local authorities and regional adoption agencies about transitional funding arrangements, and that should apply to many of the children our constituents have been contacting us about. That means that therapy that started in the last financial year can continue into ’25-26, even ahead of full ’25-26 budget announcements. However, I would say to the hon. Member that the Conservative party had a decade in which to ask Ministers those types of questions, so perhaps he should be turning his attention to his own Front Benchers.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 24th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Catherine McKinnell]

My hon. Friend sets out very well the vision that we are seeking to achieve for all children. The purpose of all the changes we are making in our education system is to ensure that inclusive mainstream education is available to all children and that there are specialist places for children with the most complex needs.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

With more and more children requiring SEND provision, the scale of the challenge is undoubtedly large. The previous Conservative Government did offer a beacon of hope for children in Buckinghamshire, with the previous Secretary of State confirming funding for a new SEND school in the county. Can the Minister confirm whether those funds are still secure and whether Buckinghamshire will still get that new SEND school?

[Catherine McKinnell]

As the hon. Member is aware, we are looking at the whole system in the round to ensure that we have the inclusive mainstream provision that the vast majority of children will not only benefit from but do better in, and that we have specialist places where they are needed. We are working at pace to ensure that we have the right places for the children who need them as fast as possible.

Government’s Childcare Expansion

Greg Smith Excerpts

Thursday 17th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Morgan]

Since joining the House, my hon. Friend has already become a champion for children and young people in his constituency. He raises a number of points—about childminders, support for children in care, and military families. As I represent the heart and home of the Royal Navy, I take those matters very seriously. I will certainly consider the points that he raises as we design a system fit for the future.

[Greg Smith (Mid Buckinghamshire) (Con)]

I am incredibly proud of the previous Government’s massive expansion of the childcare offer, and I am genuinely pleased that the new Government are carrying on with it. When it comes to the expansion of in-school nurseries, what mechanism will be put in place to ensure that rural communities, like mine in Mid Buckinghamshire, get a locked in, fair share of those new facilities?

[Stephen Morgan]

Our party wants to govern the whole country. In the election in July, we won many rural seats, and we will take the views and ambitions of rural communities seriously. If the hon. Gentleman wants to raise particular points with me to ensure that the roll-out works well in his constituency, I am very happy to meet him to discuss those issues.

Childcare Entitlements

Greg Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd April 2024 Commons Chamber

[David Johnston]

The precise parameters for that are set by the Treasury, but we would like more people to claim that tax-free childcare, because many people could claim it but do not do so at that level—and, of course, it is doubled for children with SEND. People can have that with the existing entitlements in England, which can further boost their finances. We are keen to encourage people to do that.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

To declare an interest, my youngest son Rupert, who is two, enjoyed his first day at pre-school last week under this scheme. I know from talking to many other parents across my constituency just how transformational this expansion of the childcare offer is. However, with Buckinghamshire, which is the natural and obvious place where people want to move to bring up their families, I fear that demand may well outstrip supply soon. We also have competing cost pressures from bordering London, where, when it comes to recruitment, the challenge of moving to an outer London borough to get London weighting at work is real. As my hon. Friend continues his superb work in ensuring that we have that expansion in childcare provision, will he ensure that counties such as Buckinghamshire and others across the south-east are given special consideration, given those cost pressures?

[David Johnston]

I am delighted to hear that Rupert has been able to take advantage of the offer. My hon. Friend is right that in different parts of the country we see different rates required by providers, based on the costs they are facing. That is why our rates are different in different parts of the country. Local authorities have to pass through 95% of what we give them to ensure that as much of that goes to the provider as possible, but we will continue to ensure that they are set according to what providers tell us they are having to pay, so that they have the money that they need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Greg Smith Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Damian Hinds]

I acknowledge all that my right hon. Friend says. I can reassure him that the scope of works, including all funding committed, has been confirmed on this new build. However, of course, if it would be helpful to have a meeting, I would be happy to do this.

[Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)]

14. What steps her Department is taking to encourage take-up of degree-level apprenticeships.

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

I note that the Labour Front Benchers did not mention the 222,320 starts on degree apprenticeships since their introduction in 2014-15. There are now more than 170 employer-designed degree-level apprenticeships available, including in occupations such as doctor, space engineer and midwife. We are spending an additional £40 million in the next two years to support providers to promote degree apprenticeships.

[Greg Smith]

Businesses in my constituency regularly tell me that they much prefer apprentices and those who have taken degree-level apprenticeships to traditional graduates. That came up time and again in a recent engagement event I held with Buckinghamshire Business First at Ercol in Princes Risborough. Will my right hon. Friend tell me what more the Government are going to do to send a clear signal to all pupils across the whole country that degree-level apprenticeships are out there, they should sign up for them and they will have fantastic careers ahead of them?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He is a champion of the automotive and motorsport industry in his constituency. He will be pleased to know that we now have UCAS for apprenticeships, which will transform the apprenticeship scheme when students apply for university or apprenticeships. The apprenticeship skills and knowledge network goes to thousands of schools, interacting with many hundreds of thousands of students. As I mentioned, we are spending £40 million to promote degree apprenticeships among providers. We have strengthened legislation to ensure that schools do more to promote apprenticeships and technical and vocational education.