The Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson, has praised the progress of West Nottinghamshire College, Mansfield.

He was responding in Parliament after Mansfield MP Ben Bradley raised his concerns about how Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) rules and restrictions are limiting the way that the college can support progress in Mansfield.

The restrictions relate to the previous administration at the college, which ended in 2018.

Ben asked the Secretary of State if he would commit to working with the college and himself to help it find a way to fulfil its potential and deliver the best possible further education for the community in Mansfield.

The Secretary of State praised the college and said that the turnaround is incredibly impressive. He committed to working with Ben and the college to see what opportunities could be created in the future.

Ben said: “I’m pleased I was available to follow up on this issue that I’ve raised with the Further Education Minister recently, on behalf of West Notts college.

“I welcome the Education Secretary’s kind words about the progress being made at West Notts, and I echo his praise for the college. They are working incredibly hard to improve things for our community and I want to see the barriers that currently exist lifted so that they can fulfil that potential.

“I have further meetings about this with officials at the Department for Education, so I’ll continue to raise the fantastic work that has been done at West Notts over the last 18 months whilst also ensuring the young people of Mansfield have the best possible further education opportunities.”