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1727406

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will raise apprenticeship levy funding.
	tabling member constituency	Bassetlaw
	tabling member printed	Jo White
	uin	4292
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2024 answer text <p>The Apprenticeship Levy (AL) is currently paid by large employers, charged at a rate of 0.5% on an employer’s annual pay bill of over £3 million. The annual apprenticeship budget is then set by HMT, which funds training and assessment costs for apprenticeships. <br></p><p>This government is committed to transform the Apprenticeship Levy into a Growth and Skills Levy, which will allow employers to invest in a wider range of training.</p>The government will set out more details on the Growth and Skills Levy in due course.<p><br></p> answering member constituency Bristol North West answering member printed Darren Jones question first answered 10/09/2024 15:55:32 answering member 4621 label Biography information for Darren Jones
	tabling member	5105

1725894

	registered interest
	date	30/08/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding the retention of 50% of the contributions of apprenticeship levy-paying companies.
	tabling member constituency	Orpington
	tabling member printed	Gareth Bacon
	uin	3144
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2024 answer text <p>The government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces and drive economic growth.</p><p>The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of levy paying and non-levy paying businesses.</p> answering member constituency Lewisham East answering member printed Janet Daby grouped question UIN 3139 3140 3141 3142 3143 question first answered 12/09/2024 15:32:56 answering member 4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby
	tabling member	4798 label Biography information for Gareth Bacon

1723647

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has plans to review the apprenticeship levy.
	tabling member constituency	Lagan Valley
	tabling member printed	Sorcha Eastwood
	uin	1881
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2024 answer text <p>Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.</p><p>Meeting the skills needs of the next decade is central to delivering the government’s mission. To support business and boost opportunity, the department will transform the existing Apprenticeship Levy into a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy. This will allow employers to invest in a wider range of training and empower them to upskill their workforces for current and future challenges.</p><p>The department has already established Skills England which will work closely with employers, training providers, unions, Mayoral Combined Authorities and others across the skills landscape to identify the training for which the Growth and Skills Levy will be accessible.</p> answering member constituency Lewisham East answering member printed Janet Daby question first answered 02/08/2024 12:37:00 answering member 4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby
	tabling member	5125

1723185

	registered interest
	date	24/07/2024
	answering body	Northern Ireland Office
	answering dept id	21
	answering dept short name	Northern Ireland
	answering dept sort name	Northern Ireland
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Assembly on administration of Apprenticeship Levy funds.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	Carla Lockhart
	uin	1587
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/07/2024 answer text <p>The Northern Ireland Executive receives its share of funding from the Apprenticeship Levy through the Block Grant. Policy on apprenticeships is devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive and it is up to the Executive to decide how to utilise this funding.</p> answering member constituency Leeds South answering member printed Hilary Benn question first answered 30/07/2024 09:37:26 answering member 413 label Biography information for Hilary Benn
	tabling member	4857 label Biography information for Carla Lockhart

1718615

	registered interest
	date	15/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether children in low-income families are permitted to use funding from the apprenticeship levy to stay on at secondary school.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stevenson of Balmacara
	uin	HL4717
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>Apprenticeships are jobs with training that are open to anyone aged 16 and over. The apprenticeship levy was introduced to support employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The department’s annual budget for apprenticeships in England has increased to over £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year. This budget is ringfenced for spend on apprenticeships training and assessment only to meet employer demand for high-quality apprenticeships and cannot be used for other purposes.</p><p> </p><p>To ensure that every child, regardless of their background, can excel at school and achieve their full potential, the department has targeted a greater proportion of the schools national funding formula towards deprived pupils than ever before. In total, 10.2%, over £4.4 billion, of the formula will be allocated according to deprivation factors in the 2024/25 financial year and 17.8%, or £7.8 billion, will be allocated for additional needs overall. This will help schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps and level up educational opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>The pupil premium grant, introduced in 2011, also offers direct funding to schools to improve educational outcomes for disadvantaged 5 to 16 year olds in state-funded schools in England. The department increased the premium pupil funding to over £2.9 billion this financial year to ensure the most disadvantaged pupils receive the support they need to succeed at school.</p><p> </p><p>The department is providing funding to ensure that every 16 to 18 year old has a place in further education or training if they want one. The department invested over £7 billion on 16 to 19 programme funding during the 2023/24 academic year, which included over £590 million to support students who are economically deprived and to account for low prior attainment in English and mathematics. Over £35 million has also been allocated in the 2023/24 academic year to provide free meals for 16 to 19 year olds in further education. Additionally, the department allocated over £159 million of bursary funding to institutions in the 2023/24 academic year to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds with costs such as travel, books, equipment and trips, which is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for the 2022/23 academic year.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 24/05/2024 11:27:39 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4175 label Biography information for Lord Stevenson of Balmacara

1717203

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2024
	answering body	Treasury
	answering dept id	14
	answering dept short name	Treasury
	answering dept sort name	Treasury
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how much money (1) was raised by the apprenticeships levy, and (2) was passed onto the devolved nations from levy receipts, in each financial year since 2017–18.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL4557
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue and Customs in their Tax and NIC Receipts publication which can be found online[1] at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk</a></p><p>While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. From FY2017-18 to FY2019-20, the devolved administrations received a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship Levy forecast. Beyond 2019-20, the devolved administrations received funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending. The Block Grant Transparency publication which is available on GOV.UK sets out all Barnett consequentials generated at both departmental and programme level. It is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.</p><p> </p><p>[1] HM Revenue &amp; Customs (2024), <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk" target="_blank">HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK</a></p> answering member printed Baroness Vere of Norbiton question first answered 24/05/2024 11:42:03 answering member 4580 label Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1717205

	registered interest
	date	10/05/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of apprentice levy-paying employers have transferred the maximum 25 per cent of their levy contributions to other employers in each financial year since 2017–18.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL4559
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/05/2024 answer text <p>Levy paying employers have been able to transfer a proportion of their annual funds to other employers since April 2018, when the maximum transfer allowance was 10%. This was increased to 25% in April 2019 and from 22 April 2024, the department has doubled the levy transfer allowance to 50%.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the percentage of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2023/24.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial year in which funds were transferred </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of total levy-paying employers who used all their transfer allowance</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>0.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>0.4%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>1.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>1.6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022/23</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023/24</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Transfers provide levy paying employers with more flexibility about how they spend the funds available to them, including supporting other businesses such as smaller employers, flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities to help meet local and sector-specific needs. The department has improved the transfer system, introducing a pledge and match service on GOV.UK, to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. Since the service was introduced in September 2021, over 500 employers have pledged to transfer over £37 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes, as of 9 February 2024.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 24/05/2024 12:33:08 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1701602

	registered interest
	date	16/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to change the apprenticeship levy and to grant firms more flexibility to use funds from the levy to skill up their workforce.
	tabling member printed	Lord Allen of Kensington
	uin	HL3833
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training, both for career starters as well as those looking to upskill or retrain.</p><p> </p><p>The success of the levy is enabling the department to invest £2.7 billion in apprenticeships in England in the 2024/25 financial year, and means that 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent over the 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years. It is important that this funding remains protected to support apprenticeships. The government has no current plans to allow employers to spend the funds available to them on non-apprenticeships training. Allowing employers to use 50% of funds for non-apprenticeship training could create an additional cost of up to £1.5 billion a year. Without additional investment this could reduce apprenticeship starts to 140,000 a year, which would represent an almost 60% decrease on the 2022/23 academic year.</p><p> </p><p>This month the department increased the proportion of the funds that levy-paying employers can transfer from 25% to 50%. This gives levy-paying employers even greater flexibility in how they use the funds available to them while also supporting more apprenticeships in other businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises, flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities.</p><p> </p><p>Employers can choose from almost 700 high-quality apprenticeships and have the option of using flexible training models, such as flexi-job apprenticeships and accelerated apprenticeships. Employers can also access other government-funded skills programmes, including T Levels and Skills Bootcamps.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 29/04/2024 12:24:55 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4304 label Biography information for Lord Allen of Kensington

1700584

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of apprenticeship levy networks in improving small businesses’ access to apprenticeship levy funding.
	tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Gullis
	uin	21469
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. Transfers are a great way for large employers to use their levy funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities, to help meet local or sector skills needs. This could include businesses in their supply chain.</p><p>The department continues to promote the benefits of levy transfers and has increased the proportion of their funds that levy-paying employers can transfer to support more apprenticeships in other businesses from 25% to 50%. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing their costs and enabling them to benefit from the support and experience that larger employers can provide.</p><p>Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. Since September 2021 over 550 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £37 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. It is also encouraging to see regional schemes to support local businesses through transfers, including in the West Midlands.</p><p>SMEs can also access funding directly from the apprenticeships budget. The department has increased investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion this financial year to support employers of all sizes, including SMEs. In addition, last year, the department removed the limit to the number of apprentices that SMEs can take on, making it easier for them to grow their businesses. This has already benefitted almost 350 SMEs. The department also now fully funds the costs of training and assessment for new apprentices aged 16 to 21 in small businesses.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 21470 question first answered 22/04/2024 15:09:44 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4814 label Biography information for Jonathan Gullis

1700585

	registered interest
	date	12/04/2024
	answering body	Department for Education
	answering dept id	60
	answering dept short name	Education
	answering dept sort name	Education
	hansard heading	Apprentices: Taxation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support and (b) promote regional levy networks.
	tabling member constituency	Stoke-on-Trent North
	tabling member printed	Jonathan Gullis
	uin	21470
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/04/2024 answer text <p>The apprenticeship levy supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. Transfers are a great way for large employers to use their levy funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses, including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities, to help meet local or sector skills needs. This could include businesses in their supply chain.</p><p>The department continues to promote the benefits of levy transfers and has increased the proportion of their funds that levy-paying employers can transfer to support more apprenticeships in other businesses from 25% to 50%. This will help SMEs hire more apprentices by reducing their costs and enabling them to benefit from the support and experience that larger employers can provide.</p><p>Hundreds of large levy-paying employers have already taken advantage of the opportunity to transfer their unused levy funds to other businesses. Since September 2021 over 550 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £37 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. It is also encouraging to see regional schemes to support local businesses through transfers, including in the West Midlands.</p><p>SMEs can also access funding directly from the apprenticeships budget. The department has increased investment in the apprenticeships system in England to over £2.7 billion this financial year to support employers of all sizes, including SMEs. In addition, last year, the department removed the limit to the number of apprentices that SMEs can take on, making it easier for them to grow their businesses. This has already benefitted almost 350 SMEs. The department also now fully funds the costs of training and assessment for new apprentices aged 16 to 21 in small businesses.</p> answering member constituency Thornbury and Yate answering member printed Luke Hall grouped question UIN 21469 question first answered 22/04/2024 15:09:44 answering member 4450 label Biography information for Luke Hall
	tabling member	4814 label Biography information for Jonathan Gullis