Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, will he provide an estimate for the number of people who will take up apprenticeship training at small and medium-sized businesses under the Government’s new scheme for under-25s.

To meet this government’s ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships, including at small and medium-sized enterprises, we are taking a range of action backed by an additional £725m of investment announced by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor at Autumn Budget.

We are expanding foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people, launching a £140 million pilot to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities and fully funding SME apprenticeship training for eligible 16–24-year-olds from August 2026.