Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the awareness of the apprenticeship levy among employers who are required to pay it.

The department has been working closely with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs during the past 13 months to raise awareness of the apprenticeship levy amongst all employers who are required to pay it.

Communications include direct mail, phone calls and the use of trade publications and key business intermediaries that cover over one million employer members. National Apprenticeship Service account managers are also working directly with the largest 1,100 levy-paying employers who account for approximately 70 per cent of the levy, to make sure they are aware of any payments due. A further 4,500 levy-paying employers are being supported through a dedicated telephone account management service.

We are monitoring registrations on the apprenticeship service and continue to target communications at groups that have yet to register.