Peter Roberts, Labour’s Parliamentary Spokesperson for North East Cambridgeshire has rejected claims that funding decisions following problems with the Learning and Skills Council’s Further Education programme had been taken for political reasons and revealed some of the behind-the-scenes actions to try and secure funding for the College of West Anglia in March.

Peter Roberts said: "I, like most people in Fenland, am incredibly disappointed that funding has not been secured for the College of West Anglia following the mismanagement by the Learning and Skills Council."

"I wholehearted reject claims that the choice of the thirteen projects that will receive funding has been on political grounds. For several weeks I was in close contact with John Denham MP, the then Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills through his Special Advisor and was assured that priority was being given to the areas experiencing the most deprivation, where the money would make the most impact. I passed on all the additional details of the CoWA application and the concerns of the Principal., David Pomfret. However, with the news that the total funding had to be stretched even further, it comes as little surprise that the few schemes that were successful are in Labour held Parliamentary seats, since in general they tend to be areas of greatest deprivation. The correlation should not be confused with causation."

"It is incredibly frustrating that the College of West Anglia scheme was just outside those receiving funding, however this is not the end of the story. Labour remains the only party committed to rebuilding both primary and secondary schools, through Building Schools for the Future, as well as colleges. So far Fenland has benefited greatly in additional Government capital funding that would not have happened under the Conservatives, the Tories actually opposed this educational investment. As someone who was actually educated in the state system I appreciate the need for proper facilities, that is why I am committed to working hard to try and secure funding for this project in the medium to long term future. I hope that other local politicians will make the same pledge, instead of stating one thing in Fenland for political capital and voting the polar opposite in Parliament."