Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many employers are paying the apprenticeship levy; and how many levy payers there are in (a) England, (b) Northern Ireland, (c) Scotland and (d) Wales.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
The number of businesses paying the Apprenticeship Levy is not available. HMRC collects data on a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme basis.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total receipts collected from the apprenticeship levy were in the 2017-18 financial year.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue & Customs in their Tax & NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk
In 2017-18, £2.3bn of levy receipts was collected.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been raised from the Apprenticeship Levy by HMRC since its introduction in April 2017.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
Monthly receipts data for the Apprenticeship Levy is published by HM Revenue & Customs in their Tax & NIC Receipts publication which can be found online at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/701149/Mar18_Receipts_NS_Bulletin_Final.pdf
To date £2.3bn of the estimated 2017-18 liability has been received between April 2017, when the levy was introduced, and March 2018, the latest month for which data is available.
In their March 2018 Economic and Fiscal outlook publication, the Office for Budget Responsibility estimated that the apprenticeship levy liabilities would be £2.6bn in 2017-18. This can be seen at: http://cdn.obr.uk/EFO-MaRch_2018.pdf
The remainder of the 2017-18 liability is expected to be received in the April 2018 receipts.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to lines 63 and 64 of Table 2.1 of Autumn Budget 2017, what target he has set for the Resource and Accounting Budgetary charge.
Answered by Elizabeth Truss
HM Treasury sets a target Resource and Accounting Budgetary (RAB) Charge to the Department for Education as budgetary measure to help manage the costs of student loan book. The current target RAB charge is 36%.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to switch HM Revenue and Customs's tax credit hotline to a freephone number.
Answered by Mel Stride - Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
In 2014, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) moved from 08 numbers to 03 numbers, which are often free in people’s phone packages. In addition, HMRC has introduced a number of online services, including webchat, which are proving very popular. They enable millions of tax credit customers to connect with the department at no cost, and at a time that is convenient for them, without the need to call.
Asked by: Gordon Marsden (Labour - Blackpool South)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the sums to be accrued from the apprenticeship levy in each region of the UK in (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19 and (c) 2019-20.
Answered by Jane Ellison
The apprenticeship levy will apply across the UK and will be collected from employers on a UK wide basis. The expected yield for the apprenticeship levy is published in table C.5 (‘Current Receipts’) in the Autumn Statement 2016 document. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/571559/autumn_statement_2016_web.pdf
It is not possible to produce a robust estimate of the amount of the levy which will be paid by employers in the devolved administrations or by region. This is because the PAYE system, through which employers will pay the levy, does not record the place of work of individuals and many large employers have employees working across the UK.
Skills policy is devolved and the UK government has agreed to provide the devolved administrations with a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship levy forecast (published in March 2016). The funding agreement has been published here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations.