The Liberal Democrats have condemned the Conservative Government for slashing Surrey County Council budget for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by £4,403.72 per pupil in real terms since 2015, resulting in a loss of specialist provision.

The National Education Union, which published these statistics on 15 April, has warned that local authorities have now reached crisis point.

Although children with the highest special educational needs and disabilities have a legal right to extra support, the National Education Union has warned that funding under the Conservative Government has failed to keep up with increasing costs and rising pupil numbers.

The Liberal Democrats are campaigning for more money for these pupils who possess an Education, Health and Care Plan, saving schools and councils hundreds of millions of pounds.

Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson, Layla Moran MP, said:

"Everyone deserves the best start in life, and education can be the make or break difference. It is therefore heartbreaking, particularly as a teacher, that Conservative Ministers are failing the children most in need.

"It doesn't need to be this way. Young people deserve better, and the Liberal Democrats demand better. That's why we would invest millions more to support children with an Education, Health and Care Plan, freeing up money in the schools budget to provide tailored in-school support for children with less complex additional needs such as dyslexia."

Cllr Angela Goodwin, Liberal Democrat County Councillor for Guildford North, said:

"SEND funding is an investment in a child's future. It can help someone with a learning difficulty or disability secure a higher paid job, security and independence in later life.

Just a few days after criticial local elections across all of Surrey, residents who use Bagshot, Cranleigh, Dorking and Warlingham CRCs will only be able to take recycling to these sites, from Tuesday 7 May 2019. The change comes following a Cabinet decision in January 2019 to keep the sites open temporarily in order to find an alternate route of funding.

Environment

The rate of recycling needs to be improved

Runnymede has the lowest recycling rates in Surrey. We would look to increase recycling by looking at best practice across the county. For instance, neighbouring Surrey Heath recycle juice cartons whereas in Runnymede these go to landfill.

Fly tipping needs to be addressed.

More than one million people turned out to march through London to demand another vote on Brexit. This would not be a rerun of the referendum held in June 2016, but one based on knowing what Brexit would look like in detail. It would be a vote where the electorate could make a genuine informed choice without the lies and spin which characterised the first ill-thought-out ballot.

Many of these private members' bills simply fell off the parliamentary order paper this week - the Tory government failed to give us to debate these vital issues. Others were outright blocked. We must demand better than this broken government, distracted by their Brexit mess.

Here are our 14 progressive private members' bills the government doesn't want you to know about.