Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase the uptake of (a) hairdressing and (b) barbering apprenticeships.

There are a number of apprenticeship standards available to support the hair and beauty sector, including the Level 2 Hairdressing Professional standard and the Level 2 Barbering Professional standard.

The government provides a range of financial support for employers to take on apprentices. We provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.

In addition, from the next academic year, the government will fully fund apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises) for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care. This change will make it easier for those employers to engage with apprenticeships by cutting costs and reducing bureaucracy for both them and their training providers.