Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to Ofsted’s report on Learndirect, said:

“We hope the Government has listened to our call to step in and protect trainees and apprentices in the short term, but in the long term it still leaves serious questions about the provision of training, as well as how we got into this position in the first place.

“This is why Ministers should take direct control now, to make sure the service is protected and restored to its previous high standards.

“Today’s Ofsted report is just the latest evidence of the damage done by Government cuts, privatisation and falling investment. It’s time for a different approach, which is why Labour would invest in genuinely high-quality technical and adult education, with free lifelong learning for all, so that people can re-skill and re-train throughout their lives.”