Members
Parliament
Transparency
Ben Smith, MP

Ben Smith, MP

738
Speeches
138,286
Words Spoken
67
Sittings Active
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
174 words
Correct. It states, Percentage of performance appraisals completed for school and Department of Education staff. And it was discontinued. Can the Minister let us know where I can find where that information would be now, considering that seems to be an important performance measure for us to know whether there were ap-praisals completed? With that I ask, Are performance appraisals …
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
239 words
Programme 1702, Student Services. It states under psychoeducational assessments that 90 per cent were completed. What was the outcome of the assessments? Were 90 per cent of the cases dealt with satisfactorily? And what is the process for us to get to 100 per cent? Programme 1703, Finance and Corporate Services, it says that there was a revised forecast for …
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
6 words
This is [programme] 1705, Primary Schools.
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
276 words
There is a measure that shows the targets for improvement in math, reading and writing. Can the Minister please provide us details on what happens when these improvements are not met? What is the level that these assessments are being compared to? And wha t are we doing when we are not achieving the levels that are expected? Does this …
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
3 words
Yes, Mr. Chairman.
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
89 words
[It states] Students gaining college acceptance. Can the Minister please explain what is expected to get to the acceptance level, and is this for entry into Bermuda College or international colleges and universities? The original forecast was for 85 per cent for 2023/24 but was revised to 60 per cent. The target in 2024/25 is 60 per cent. Can the …
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
4 words
One second, Mr. Chairman.
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
54 words
Mr. Chairman, [on page B -145,] “Students passing Advance Placement exams with a score of 3 or higher,” the target is 80 per cent. Can the Minister provide us with what percentage of students take these Advance Placement exams? On page B -146 . . . The Chairman: Yes, page B -146, Performance Measures.
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
70 words
[It states] 92 per cent of students pass with a Bermuda school diploma. Can the Minister please give us an indication of what assessment is done to receive the Bermuda school diploma and what is that . . . what does that certificate give them access to? Does that allow them to go to Bermuda College? What is the step …
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
17 words
Mr. Chairman, those are my questions for now. I’ll let the Minister begin some of his answers.
8 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
215 words
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all , I would like to thank the Minister for the fulsome answers that he has provided so far. His last set of answers were touching on a question that I believe has not been answered. And that was because of . . . you know, we have the overall cost for each school, …
4 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
3,453 words
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and good afternoon. I think I will start off with what I think a lot of us would have learned today, which is that Tourism needs to have its own head when it comes to future budget debates. Just because it is such an important part, second pillar of our economy. And when I l ook …
4 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
323 words
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am just going to ask a few more questions before I take my seat. There obviously have been a lot of questions and conversations around the solar project at the National Sports Centre. I think it would be important for me to ask some questions regarding that at this time. So if the …
1 Mar 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
1,283 words
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, I am going to start on page B - 265 for Head 83. My focus is on [business unit] 93008, Gang Violence Reduction Progra mme. Honourable MP Dunkley was mentioning some of the target outcomes that were written on this page and how we do not have a lot of information to really hone …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
5 words
Yes. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
70 words
Mr. Speaker, it is interesting when you get to the Budget Debate that two different teams can look at the same numbers and come up with completely different outlooks of what is happening in the country. The truth is the real answer is a bit in the middle, because the Opposition does not disagree with the strength and the growth …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
816 words
The problem is that it is not the only thing that is happening. So during COVID -19, international business was able to continue to operate. They were able to quickly pivot to working from home. They were able to continue to figure out ways to grow. A lot of that creativity and initiative happened within that industry. The changes that …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
344 words
And I literally said that. That means all Governments. I am not disagreeing. But we have to change the way we are doing things. That is the problem. We get here, and instead of paying attention to what those families are dealing with on an ongoing basis, they are not feeling this growth that we are talking about. So, Mr. …
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
41 words
Today we are talking about the Budget Debate. And right now you have had multiple people get up and talk about it. Are we going to talk about what was in the press? Is that what we are doing, Honourable Premier?
23 Feb 2024 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House Of Assembly
136 words
What I am referring to is overall immigration reform. So my friend MP Famous behind me sat on that Immigration Reform Committee with me for three years while we worked really hard to try to get some things to get across the line. What I am referring to is this: When you spend the amount of time and energy that …