Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average cost of delivering a manufacturing and engineering apprenticeship for each level.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The cost of individual apprenticeships will depend on the price agreed by employers and apprenticeship providers.
Details of funding bands for apprenticeship standards and frameworks, approved for delivery for starts from May 2017 (attached) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-funding-bands.
The funding bands limit the amount that the government will contribute towards the costs of training and assessment.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when non-Apprenticeship Levy paying employers will be able to register on the Digital Apprenticeship Service.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Details of the number of accounts registered on the apprenticeship service can be found at:
We plan to allow levy-paying employers to transfer funds to other employers from April 2018. Non-levy payers who intend to receive and spend funds transferred to them will be able to register on the apprenticeship service from April 2018. We plan that all non-levy payers will use the apprenticeship service from April 2019 to manage their apprenticeships. We will set out when they will be able to register for an account in due course.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of Apprenticeship Levy paying employers are registered on the Digital Apprenticeship Service.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Details of the number of accounts registered on the apprenticeship service can be found at:
We plan to allow levy-paying employers to transfer funds to other employers from April 2018. Non-levy payers who intend to receive and spend funds transferred to them will be able to register on the apprenticeship service from April 2018. We plan that all non-levy payers will use the apprenticeship service from April 2019 to manage their apprenticeships. We will set out when they will be able to register for an account in due course.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have held with the devolved administrations concerning communications with employers operating in more than one country in the UK as to how those employers intend to spend funds received from the Apprenticeship Levy.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Responsibility for skills is a devolved matter and each administration has its own arrangements for apprenticeships and use of the apprenticeship levy funds, including how this is communicated to employers. Officials from all the devolved administrations meet regularly to ensure apprenticeship funding is accessible to employers across the UK.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to use the money raised from the Immigration Skills Charge.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The income raised from the Immigration Skills Charge will be used to address skills gaps within the UK’s workforce contributing to the department’s skills budget. This budget is used to develop the necessary skills of individuals required by employers.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many companies pay the apprenticeship levy in each region of England; and what proportion of revenue from the apprenticeship levy is paid by companies in each region of England.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
We do not hold information on the number of companies paying the apprenticeship levy by region or what proportion of revenue from the levy is paid by companies in each region.
Apprenticeship service data is available as reported to the end of August 2017, which includes the number of accounts registered on the apprenticeship service and the number of commitments made. This information can be found in the attached files as well as through the following weblink:
These statistics are published on a monthly basis.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the role of (1) Ofsted, and (2) the Institute for Apprenticeships, in monitoring the quality of apprenticeship training providers under the new apprenticeship levy framework in England.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
There are many different organisations, including Ofsted and the Institute for Apprenticeships, involved in assuring various different aspects of the quality of apprenticeships. The responsibilities of each organisation with a role in regulating the apprenticeships system has been published in the Apprenticeship accountability statement.
The Institute for Apprenticeships, a crown non-departmental public body which puts employers at the heart of the apprenticeship system, was formally established on 1 April 2017 to support the quality of apprenticeship standards in England. The Institute for Apprenticeships outlined how it will carry its functions in its operational plan.
Further information about the role of Ofsted and the Institute of Apprenticeships, in monitoring the quality of apprenticeship training providers under the new apprenticeship levy framework in England, can be found in the attached document.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers about the funding allocated to training providers for employers of apprentices who do not pay the apprenticeship levy.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The timetable for the new non-levy employer apprenticeship procurement was announced by my Rt hon, Friend, the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills and Minister for Women, at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) conference on 26 June 2017.
Since then, Minister Milton has had a number of conversations with the AELP on all aspects of apprenticeships policy, including the non-levy employer apprenticeship procurement.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to seek compensation from Learndirect Ltd for (1) breach of contract, or (2) misuse of public funds.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
Learndirect Ltd have a wind-down clause within their contract for the Adult Education Budget, which will be terminated in July 2018. Routine audit work will be carried out in Learndirect Ltd during this period as part of the assurance work carried out by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). If this identifies errors in funding claims or breaches of funding regulations, the ESFA will seek an appropriate recovery.
Asked by: Lord Fox (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of the apprenticeship levy revenue raised between April and September has been distributed to training providers.
Answered by Viscount Younger of Leckie - Shadow Minister (Work and Pensions)
The Apprenticeship Levy is collected by the Treasury who have allocated a budget for apprenticeships to the Department. Training providers are paid based on the number of learners they train and published funding rates. At the end of the financial year, the Government reports on income including taxation and expenditure in departments’ annual reports, and the Department reports on apprenticeship spending in line with this timetable.