Geoffrey Cox, MP for West Devon and Torridge, will deliver the keynote speech at a MENCAP conference on learning disabilities in Exeter tomorrow. The conference, with the theme ?What are we educating our children for?? will bring together local authorities, charities, parents and other interested parties and will focus on the challenges faced by those with severe learning disabilities leaving the education system. The Learning and Skills Council has identified the South West as a region with one of the fastest growing numbers of those suffering from learning disabilities when compared to the national average. Geoffrey Cox, who is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism, has taken a particular interest in special needs education and post-16 opportunities for those with learning disabilities. He said: ?I have received frequent complaints from concerned parents and students, all of whom tell me that the provision for education and other opportunities after 16 and 18 is simply inadequate. ?This impression is certainly supported by local charities who are often asked to supplement the services that people rightly expect the county council to provide. With so many parties involved, the process of transition has also become inaccessibly complicated resulting in many vulnerable young men and women falling through the net while others do not receive the level of support they should.?