Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives of the (a) CBI and (b) TUC on the level of apprenticeship starts since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy.
I, and my other ministers in the Department for Education (DfE) meet regularly and frequently with the Confederation of British Industry and other representative organisations including the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to discuss a range of matters including apprenticeships. Discussions have included how we can make best use of the apprenticeship levy to deliver three million high quality apprenticeships.
The TUC also works with DfE at a senior official level through our Apprenticeship Stakeholder Board to discuss a range of apprenticeship issues.