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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

1687070

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2024
	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 made an estimate of how many and what proportion of businesses have used their apprenticeship service account to transfer unused levy funds to SMEs in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Bosworth
	tabling member printed	Dr Luke Evans
	uin	12845
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/02/2024 answer text <p>Transfers are a way for large employers to use their levy funds to support apprenticeships in any other business, including smaller employers, flexi-job apprenticeship agencies and charities to help meet local or sector-specific needs.</p><p>Levy-paying employers have been able to transfer 25% of their annual funds since April 2019, when this was increased from 10%, and have been able to use an online service since 2021 to make the process quicker and simpler. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes.</p><p>The table below shows the number and proportion of levy-paying employers that have used their apprenticeship service accounts to transfer funds to non-levy paying employers in each of the last three financial years. The department does not hold transfer data specific for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), but can confirm that SMEs represent most non-levy employers on the apprenticeship service.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Fi</strong><strong>nancial </strong><strong>Ye</strong><strong>ar</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020</strong>/<strong>21</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021</strong>/<strong>22</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2022</strong>/<strong>23</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of levy paying employers that have transferred funds to non-levy employers.</p></td><td><p>390</p></td><td><p>520</p></td><td><p>580</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Proportion of levy paying employers that have transferred funds to non-levy employers.</p></td><td><p>2.0%</p></td><td><p>2.5%</p></td><td><p>2.7%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>When reviewing these figures, it is important to note that only unused funds can be transferred. Some employers make full use of their levy funds and so have no funds to transfer.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 12/02/2024 13:45:21 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4781 label Biography information for Dr Luke Evans

1684344

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2024
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 7553 on Apprentices: Taxation, what the process is for the reallocation of funds in apprenticeship accounts that have expired; and what the destination of those funds were in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	11088
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/01/2024 answer text <p>The funds in levy-paying employers’ apprenticeship service accounts are distinct from, and operate on a different basis to, the department’s apprenticeships budget. The former represents funding for apprenticeships notionally available for use by individual levy-paying employers over a two-year period. The latter represents the total amount of funding available annually to support apprenticeships in England for all employers, including those who do not pay the apprenticeship levy.</p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are notionally hypothecated based on their levy contributions over a two-year period. These funds do not constitute a ‘physical’ pot of money; they should be considered more as credit that is available for each levy-paying employer to use if they wish.</p><p>When a levy-paying employer has an employee on an apprenticeship, their account will show their available funds being debited each month to reflect the cost of this training and assessment. In parallel but entirely separately, the training provider receives an equivalent value monthly payment directly from the department’s apprenticeships budget. These payments do not actually come from levy-paying employers’ accounts.</p><p>Since available funds in each levy-paying employer’s account are notionally hypothecated, there are no monies to ‘reallocate’ when unused funds expire after 24 months. The credit is either drawn down, and equivalent payments separately made to training providers from the department’s annual budget, or expires when not used and the department’s annual budget remains the same). The government expires funds after 24 months because otherwise levy-paying employers would accrue unreasonably large balances, with the potential to create financial commitments that the government has not planned to meet.</p><p>On average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget has been spent over the last two financial years. If the department’s apprenticeships budget is not fully spent by the end of the financial year, funds are returned to HM Treasury in line with standard practice set out in the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 30/01/2024 16:24:44 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1682986

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2024
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 7553 on Apprentices: Taxation, what the total spend from apprenticeship levy accounts was in each year since 2017; and how much and what what proportion of that spend came through the (a) apprenticeship levy and (b) top-up.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	10103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>The table below shows the total spend from levy-paying employers’ apprenticeship service accounts in each financial year since 2017/2018.</p><p>These figures do not cover the total spend on apprenticeships in levy-paying employers, such as additional payments for English and maths support and for taking on apprentices aged 16 to 18.</p><p>It is not possible to provide a breakdown of this spend by employers’ levy contributions and the 10% government top-up to those contributions.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial Year</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td><td><p>2020/21</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Levy spend from employer accounts (£m)</p></td><td><p>170</p></td><td><p>639</p></td><td><p>961</p></td><td><p>1,041</p></td><td><p>1,238</p></td><td><p>1,366</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 24/01/2024 14:20:20 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1682987

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2024
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 8 January 2024 to Question 7553 on Apprentices: Taxation, what estimate he has made of the amount of apprenticeship levy that will expire and be returned in each month from December 2023 over the next three years.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	10104
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/01/2024 answer text <p>The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes to boost the skills of their workforces.</p><p>The funds in apprenticeship service accounts are available for levy-paying employers to draw on for 24 months before they expire on a rolling, month-by-month basis. In December 2023, £104 million expired from levy-paying employers’ apprenticeship service accounts. Demand for apprenticeships is employer-led and the government does not have an estimate of future levy expiry from employers’ apprenticeship service accounts.</p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships in England for employers of all sizes. As such, expired funds from employers’ accounts do not represent funding that is lost to the system. Rather, the department directs this funding to supporting apprenticeships in small and medium-sized enterprises, to English and mathematics training for apprentices and to additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. Therefore, the department’s spend against its annual apprenticeship budget is a better indicator of the extent to which employers’ levy contributions are being utilised to drive skills development in England. On average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget has been spent over the last two financial years.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 24/01/2024 14:12:44 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1679057

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2023
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 13 December 2023 to Question 3789 on Apprentices: Taxation, what the total expired unused Apprenticeship Levy funds were in each month since May 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	7553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2024 answer text <p>The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes to boost the skills of their workforces. As the apprenticeship levy is UK-wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.</p><p> </p><p>Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government. The department does not record industry, sector or organisation type when levy-paying employers register an apprenticeship service account. For this reason, data which shows which sectors were most or least likely to spend their funds cannot be provided. The department does hold information relating to individual employer accounts but it would not be appropriate to disclose this information without consulting with employers.</p><p> </p><p>Employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer up to 25% of their funds to other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on are used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses who do not pay the levy. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The funds in apprenticeship service accounts are available for levy-paying employers to draw on for 24 months before they expire on a rolling, month-by-month basis. The table attached shows the total funds that expired from levy-paying employers apprenticeship service accounts in each month since May 2019. The decline in levy expiry value for October 2021 was due to a delay transferring levy into employer accounts. As a result, employers were granted an additional month to spend those funds, to ensure that the 24-month window to spend funds was maintained.</p><p> </p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships in England for employers of all sizes. As such, expired funds from employers’ accounts do not represent funding that is lost to the system. Rather, the department directs this funding to supporting apprenticeships in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to English and mathematics training for apprentices and to additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. On average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget has been spent over the last two financial years.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 7554 question first answered 08/01/2024 17:08:49 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon attachment 1 file name 7553_7554_Apprenticeship_levy_funds.xlsx title 7553 7554 Table
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1679058

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2023
	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, which (a) sectors and (b) employers were (i) most and (ii) least likely to utilise the funds provided through the apprenticeship levy in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Witham
	tabling member printed	Priti Patel
	uin	7554
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2024 answer text <p>The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes to boost the skills of their workforces. As the apprenticeship levy is UK-wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.</p><p> </p><p>Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government. The department does not record industry, sector or organisation type when levy-paying employers register an apprenticeship service account. For this reason, data which shows which sectors were most or least likely to spend their funds cannot be provided. The department does hold information relating to individual employer accounts but it would not be appropriate to disclose this information without consulting with employers.</p><p> </p><p>Employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer up to 25% of their funds to other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on are used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses who do not pay the levy. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.</p><p> </p><p>The funds in apprenticeship service accounts are available for levy-paying employers to draw on for 24 months before they expire on a rolling, month-by-month basis. The table attached shows the total funds that expired from levy-paying employers apprenticeship service accounts in each month since May 2019. The decline in levy expiry value for October 2021 was due to a delay transferring levy into employer accounts. As a result, employers were granted an additional month to spend those funds, to ensure that the 24-month window to spend funds was maintained.</p><p> </p><p>The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships in England for employers of all sizes. As such, expired funds from employers’ accounts do not represent funding that is lost to the system. Rather, the department directs this funding to supporting apprenticeships in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), to English and mathematics training for apprentices and to additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. On average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget has been spent over the last two financial years.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon grouped question UIN 7553 question first answered 08/01/2024 17:08:49 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon attachment 1 file name 7553_7554_Apprenticeship_levy_funds.xlsx title 7553 7554 Table
	tabling member	4066 label Biography information for Priti Patel

1679273

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2023
	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 how many apprenticeship starts at level 6 were for legal, finance and accounting in 2021–22 and 2022–23; how many of these apprentices were employed in levy-paying organisations; and how many there were in each region.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Wolf of Dulwich
	uin	HL1380
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/01/2024 answer text <p>Level 6 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the tables below, along with breakdowns by region, and where starts were supported by apprenticeship service account levy funds.</p><p>Level 6 Apprenticeship starts in the legal, finance and accounting route:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>960</p></td><td><p>900</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br> Of which supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>890</p></td><td><p>850</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br> Of which by region:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Region</p></td><td><p>2021/22</p></td><td><p>2022/23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Midlands</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East of England</p></td><td><p>140</p></td><td><p>130</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>270</p></td><td><p>300</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>90</p></td><td><p>90</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>130</p></td><td><p>120</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>90</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>West Midlands</p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td><p>70</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Yorkshire and The Humber</p></td><td><p>70</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Outside of England and unknown</p></td><td><p>40</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br> <br> Notes for tables:</p><p>(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.</p><p>(2) Data source is the individualised Learner Record.</p><p>(3) Geography is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Where the postcode is outside of England or not known it is included in the 'Outside of England and unknown' category.</p><p>(4) Geographies are taken from the National Statistics Postcode Lookup.</p><p>(5) Please see the 'Further education and skills statistics: methodology' document for more information about how 'supported by Apprenticeship service account levy funds' is derived.</p><p>(6) Route information is based on the latest information held on the IfATE 'Search the apprenticeships' page at the point of publication.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 04/01/2024 15:45:16 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
	tabling member	4347 label Biography information for Baroness Wolf of Dulwich

1678531

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2023
	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 made an assessment of the potential merits of allowing employers in (a) commercial laundries and (b) other sectors to use 25% of their apprenticeship levy funds for non-apprenticeship training.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	7374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/01/2024 answer text <p>I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 November 2023 to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-07/614" target="_blank">614</a>.</p> answering member constituency Harlow answering member printed Robert Halfon question first answered 08/01/2024 13:16:57 answering member 3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts