Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Minister for English Regional and Local Economies, commenting on the CLG announcement about its new LEPs network, said:

"Questions are now inevitably being asked about the process by which this network has been set up, with no Parliamentary announcement or any opportunity for ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Further Education and Skills Minister, responding to today’s UCU/UNISON survey revealing the prospects of job and course cuts at FE colleges across England, said:

"This survey of FE colleges is very worrying given the stark details of axed jobs and courses with ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth, commenting ahead of a government announcement on skills and FE colleges, said:

“This shows ministers belatedly scrabbling to catch up with growing concerns about quality in skills provision and their undermining of FE colleges through funding ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth, commenting on the Government’s response to the Richard Review, said:
 
“Coming after a fall in apprenticeships for under 19s, the weak response to the Richard Review shows David Cameron is failing to deliver apprenticeships for ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth, commenting ahead of Labour’s Opposition day debate on using public procurement to boost apprenticeships, said:

“Labour will today demand that the Government uses the money which it already spends on public procurement to create new ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Skills and Regional Growth, commenting on apprenticeship statistics released today, said:

“Today’s disappointing figures lay bare the continuing decline in numbers of apprenticeships for young people under David Cameron with a 15 per cent drop in comparison to the same period ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills, and Regional Growth, in response to Vince Cable’s speech today and announcement on getting young unemployed into work, said:

“This announcement does nothing to create more vocational educational opportunities for the young people that need them -  thanks to ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour's Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth, commenting on the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee report on apprenticeships, said:

"The committee’s report sharply criticises the Government’s record on apprenticeships, echoing concerns Labour has been raising for well over a year on ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills & Regional Growth, commenting on the latest round of Regional Growth Fund awards, said:

“We urgently need a plan for growth but instead we have the Regional Growth Fund which has created far more losers than winners, with over two thirds ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Further Education, Skills & Regional Growth Minister, commenting on the Government’s announcement on further education loans today, said:
 
"Alongside the further education sector, Labour has been raising concerns about the Government’s plan for FE loans for months. That campaign has now produced ...

Commenting on new analysis of government plans for FE loans released today, Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills & Regional Growth Gordon Marsden MP said:

“This analysis shows how damaging the Tory-led Government’s FE loans policy is set to be, with as many as 100,000 fewer college students ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour's Shadow Business Minister, commenting on the Government’s announcement of a one year minimum duration for all 19 plus apprenticeships, said:
 
“There have been real concerns that the apprenticeship brand, which has long been cherished as the gold standard in vocational education, is at risk ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Minister, commenting on today’s report from the Transport Select Committee on the Impact of HS2, said:
 
“Today’s report underlines the urgent need for this Government to put transport and skills at the heart of urgently needed strategies for regional growth.
 
“The ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills and Regional Growth, responding to today’s Centre for Cities report, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): One Year On, said:

“The Government is out of touch with the needs of businesses up and down the country and has refused to ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Further Education, Skills & Regional Growth, responding to today’s apprenticeship statistics, said:

“The figures make it clear that the Tory-led Government is not doing enough to boost apprenticeships for the key 16-24 age group. David Cameron should adopt Labour’s clear ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour's Shadow Business Minister, said in response to Lord Heseltine's admission today that the Tory-led Government's abolition of Regional Development Agencies was a mistake:

"Even Lord Heseltine, the chair of the oversubscribed regional growth fund, admits that the Tory-led Government's abolition of the ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Business and Regional Economies Minister, commenting on the latest Enterprise Zone announcement, said:
 
“With 38,000 added to unemployment in the last three months alone, the enterprise zone proposal which even on the Government’s own highly questionable figures aims to create at most ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Minister, responding to Vince Cable’s admission that the second round of the Regional Growth Fund is three times oversubscribed, said: 

“Vince Cable has admitted today that the second round of the Regional Growth Fund has been more than three times oversubscribed, with ...

Gordon Marsden MP, Labour’s Shadow Business Minister, responding to the announcement that the Housing and Communities Agency will be allowed to take on the majority of Regional Development Agency assets and allowing Local Enterprise Partnerships and Local Authorities to access them, said:

“Vince Cable and Eric Pickles have been ...