Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of apprenticeship starts since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy in April 2017.

From May 2017 to the end of April 2018, there were 338,500 apprenticeship starts. Rigorous apprenticeship standards accounted for just over 40 per cent of all starts reported in the first three quarters of the 2017/18 academic year, compared to just 2.5 per cent in the same reporting period in 2016/17. These new standards are driven by employers to provide high quality training, which will lead to increased productivity at every level and equip apprentices with the skills they need to progress in their careers.

During the first three quarters of 2017/18, the fall in starts has been greatest at level 2, whilst we have seen the numbers of starts at higher levels (4 and above) rise by nearly 13 per cent. This is good news; it shows a healthier balance across apprenticeships at all levels, helping people progress to higher skills.

Please note, that the figures reported in the 2017/18 academic year are based on provisional in-year data and are subject to change until the final data is reported in November 2018.