Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of underspend on the apprenticeship levy; and what proportion of this amount is for the North West.

The apprenticeships programme is demand-led, which means employers will recruit apprentices that are appropriate for their business needs.

The 2015 Spending Review set forward budgets for apprenticeship investment, and £2.45 billion will be invested in apprenticeships in England by 2019-20. This is double the amount spent in 2010-11. The apprenticeships budget from 2016-2020 can be found on page 8 of ‘Information on apprenticeship levy’, which can viewed via: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545145/Apprenticeships_-expected_levy_and_total_spend_-_Aug_2016.pdf.

We will publish details on aggregate apprenticeship spending in the Departmental end-of-year accounts as part of our normal financial reporting cycle.

We have not made a geographical assessment of apprenticeship spending.