Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of Apprenticeship Levy funding has been allocated to non-levy paying employers in each year since 2018.

HM Treasury allocates a fixed, annual ring-fenced budget for apprenticeships to the Department for Education. The budget is independent of how much levy receipts are each year. The budget is used to fund new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy-paying employers and to cover the ongoing training costs of apprentices who are already in training.

Funding available for levy-paying employers depends on the employers’ levy contributions and how many of their employees live in England. For employers who do not pay the levy, we allocate funding based on our assessment of demand in the system at the time and overall long-term affordability of the programme. However, actual spending on the apprenticeship programme depends on the choices that employers make about the type and number of apprenticeships that they offer to meet their current and future skills needs.

In 2018-19, £809 million (37%) was allocated to non-levy employers from a total budget of £2,181 million for apprenticeships training.

In 2019-20, £766 million (32%) was allocated to non-levy employers from a total budget of £2,410 million for apprenticeships training.