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Speech in Commons Chamber - Mon 31 Jan 2022
Oral Answers to Questions

"The University of Buckingham in my constituency has twice topped the charts for the university with the least restrictions on free speech, and under the outstanding leadership of its vice-chancellor, Professor James Tooley, proposals have been drawn up calling for new laws to ensure that academics can sue an institution …..."
Greg Smith - View Speech

View all Greg Smith (Con - Mid Buckinghamshire) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 05 Jan 2022
Education: Return in January

"It is vital that schools remain open and I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s clear determination to keep them open. I share, however, the concerns of other hon. Members who have spoken about the mask mandate, which I believe will cause harm to all children in terms of concentration, …..."
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View all Greg Smith (Con - Mid Buckinghamshire) contributions to the debate on: Education: Return in January

Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Buckingham
Friday 10th December 2021

Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many exclusions from school (a) in total and (b) of pupils with SEN occurred in Buckingham constituency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Will Quince

The data on requests and issuing of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are not collected by parliamentary constituency, or by who the requestor is for the plan. The answer provided is based on all requests made to the Buckinghamshire local authority. The number of requests received, and plans issued by Buckinghamshire local authority, are detailed below.

Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Requests for EHCP

680

658

888

940

940

New EHCPs issued

447

300

628

674

592

The tables below show the number of permanent exclusions and suspensions for pupils with and without special educational needs (SEN) in Buckingham constituency between the 2015/16 and 2019/20 academic years.

Permanent Exclusions

Academic year

All pupils

Pupils without SEN

SEN with EHCP or statement

SEN without EHCP or statement

2019/20

6

4

1

1

2018/19

12

6

2

4

2017/18

8

2

0

6

2016/17

14

5

2

7

2015/16

14

8

3

3

Suspensions

Academic year

All pupils

Pupils without SEN

SEN with EHCP or statement

SEN without EHCP or statement

2019/20

503

261

98

144

2018/19

696

330

115

251

2017/18

423

146

64

213

2016/17

457

234

67

156

2015/16

283

133

53

97


Written Question
Special Educational Needs: Buckingham
Friday 10th December 2021

Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests for education, health and care plans were (a) requested by parents and (b) signed off by Buckinghamshire Council for students in the Buckingham constituency in each of the last five years.

Answered by Will Quince

The data on requests and issuing of education, health and care plans (EHCPs) are not collected by parliamentary constituency, or by who the requestor is for the plan. The answer provided is based on all requests made to the Buckinghamshire local authority. The number of requests received, and plans issued by Buckinghamshire local authority, are detailed below.

Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Requests for EHCP

680

658

888

940

940

New EHCPs issued

447

300

628

674

592

The tables below show the number of permanent exclusions and suspensions for pupils with and without special educational needs (SEN) in Buckingham constituency between the 2015/16 and 2019/20 academic years.

Permanent Exclusions

Academic year

All pupils

Pupils without SEN

SEN with EHCP or statement

SEN without EHCP or statement

2019/20

6

4

1

1

2018/19

12

6

2

4

2017/18

8

2

0

6

2016/17

14

5

2

7

2015/16

14

8

3

3

Suspensions

Academic year

All pupils

Pupils without SEN

SEN with EHCP or statement

SEN without EHCP or statement

2019/20

503

261

98

144

2018/19

696

330

115

251

2017/18

423

146

64

213

2016/17

457

234

67

156

2015/16

283

133

53

97


Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 22 Jul 2021
Awarding Qualifications in 2021 and 2022

"I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement. Does he agree that exams are the fairest way not only to assess the pupils’ ability in their subjects but to give them certainty about how they will be assessed? The rigour of the tried and tested exam system will help …..."
Greg Smith - View Speech

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Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 06 Jul 2021
Covid-19: Education Settings

"I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement and the step back to normality and letting children be children that the scrapping of the bubbles system brings, but there continues to be an anxiety that affects people on both sides of the debate, which is whether the vaccination programme will …..."
Greg Smith - View Speech

View all Greg Smith (Con - Mid Buckinghamshire) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Education Settings

Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 30 Jun 2021
Covid-19: Impact on Attendance in Education Settings

"I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s work to keep schools open and his ambition to see the end of the bubble system, but may I ask him to look at a cohort of children who risk being caught up negatively by covid guidance and restrictions: those who are …..."
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Written Question
Cerebral Palsy: Children
Tuesday 20th April 2021

Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the all-party Parliamentary group on cerebral palsy’s report, Early identification, intervention and pathways of care of infants and young children with cerebral palsy: The case for reform and investment, published in March 2021, what plans he has to review how personal budgets in the Local Offer under the Children and Families Act 2014 can be used to enable access to early support for families with babies with or at risk of cerebral palsy.

Answered by Vicky Ford

Currently, any parent or carer of a child or a young person, including those with cerebral palsy, may request a personal budget as part of their education, health and care (EHC) plan as a means of delivering the outcomes specified in the plan. The scope of that budget will vary depending on the needs of the individual, the eligibility criteria for the different components and the mechanism for delivery. This means that decisions need to be taken on an individual basis, including for children with cerebral palsy. Decisions about the provision of personal budgets and other operational matters are for local authorities. Local authorities and their health partners remain responsible for securing the provision specified in an EHC plan, funded where necessary through joint commissioning arrangements.

More broadly, a review regarding special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) was announced in September 2019. The SEND review is looking at ways of making sure that the SEND system is consistent, high-quality and integrated across education, health and care. It is also considering measures to make sure that money is being spent fairly, efficiently and effectively, and that the support available to children and young people is sustainable in the future.


Written Question
Satellites: Manufacturing Industries
Tuesday 23rd February 2021

Asked by: Greg Smith (Conservative - Mid Buckinghamshire)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to provide (a) skills and (b) training to help support the UK manufacturing of small satellites; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Gillian Keegan

We recently published the White Paper, Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth. This is focused on giving people the skills they need, in a way that suits them, so they can get great jobs in sectors the economy needs and boost this country’s productivity.

A key focus of the White Paper is making the skills systems more responsive to employer skill needs both locally and nationally. Building on the success of our flagship apprenticeships programme, we are putting employers at the heart of the system so education and training meets their needs. Through employer engagement, we have transformed apprenticeships from a second-rate option to a prestigious opportunity to train with leading employers and get a well-paid job. Our new apprenticeships system includes a Space Engineering Technician apprenticeship that covers the design and manufacture of satellites and the components and subsystems they comprise, along with production, operation and maintenance of the highly specialised ground support equipment used to support development and testing of satellites before launch. It has been developed by employers including Airbus Defence & Space, BAE Systems, Thales Alenia Space UK Ltd, Nammo Westcott Ltd, Reaction Engines Ltd, Oxford Space Systems, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd and several others.

Alongside apprenticeships, by 2030, almost all technical courses will be based on employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs.

A key part of our plans is to provide the advanced technical and higher technical skills the nation needs including, for example, in satellite production. We are doing this by expanding our flagship Institutes of Technology programme to every part of the country by the end of this Parliament to spearhead the increase in higher-level technical skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. We will also continue to roll out T Levels, which prepare students for entry into skilled employment or higher levels of technical study, including apprenticeships. We are reforming higher technical education with a new approval system based on employer-led standards and are creating clear progression routes for students towards the higher-level technical qualifications that employers need.

We are also funding the High-Value Manufacturing Catapult’s ‘Skills Value Chain’. This process assesses future skills needs in advanced manufacturing, develops courses to meet these needs, and makes those courses widely available through high-quality providers such as Institutes of Technology. It will support Small and Medium Enterprises to work with emerging technologies in the manufacturing sector, such as electrification, additive manufacturing, and metrology. We will then explore whether this Skills Value Chain approach can be used in other emerging skills areas and to support government priorities such as net zero.


Speech in Commons Chamber - Wed 03 Feb 2021
Support for University Students: Covid-19

"I also welcome the additional funds that were announced yesterday, which will undoubtedly go a long way to helping those in the greatest financial need. But I have heard from many of my constituents who are students at institutions across the country about their continuing to be burdened with the …..."
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