Laying the foundations of a good future for our children

One of the pleasures of working in the Palace of Westminster is being able to show Crawley residents around our historic House of Commons.
The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001
The Constituency View with Henry Smith MP SUS-170126-103725001

Earlier this week I welcomed students from Thomas Bennett Community College, following their success in my inaugural Crawley Inter-School Public Speaking Competition to mark Parliament Week last year.

It’s always a joy to meet with local students and I think important for those in public life to take part in such engagement all year round; not only to mark occasions such as elections or Parliament Week. Just last Friday I visited Oriel High School to be interviewed by a sixth form student undertaking a political research project.

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This week I met with the Education Secretary to further discuss the issue of fairer funding for our schools as we approach the conclusion of the Government’s consultation on the new National Funding Formula on 22nd March.

This provisionally sees Crawley schools gain an increase in funding of 8.4% or £5.7 million but I urge all parents and staff to take part in the consultation process; the issue of transitional funding in the interim is also one which I with West Sussex MPs continue to pursue.

While the consultation process is complex, it does not have to be completed all in one go, and if you don’t want to answer the form on the Department for Education website you can simply email them with your views.

In recent weeks I’ve also been preparing for my Crawley Apprenticeship & Jobs Fair at the Civic Hall on Monday 27th March, 10am-3pm.

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Event sponsors include Crawley Borough Council, L-3 Commercial Training Solutions, Cavendish Care and HM Prison Service. In attendance will be a whole range of organisations including the Army and the RAF, Virgin Atlantic, Central Sussex College and Jamie Oliver Restaurants.

I’ve been pleased to host a number of the organisations taking part at this event in previous years, however I’m also delighted to welcome some new companies to the Crawley Apprenticeship & Jobs Fair.

The event is free of charge, and open to people of all ages interested in seeking out new apprenticeship and employment opportunities.