Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many apprentices are employed in her Department.

As at the end of September 2018, 2,288 DWP employees are currently undertaking an apprenticeship.

To contextualise this figure with published Cabinet Office data:-

• In the period 31^st April 2017 – 31^st March 2018, DWP achieved a total of 1,309 apprenticeship starts
• In the period 1^st April 2018 – 30^th September 2018, DWP achieved a total of 199 apprenticeship starts

The balancing figure refers to colleagues that were already undertaking an apprenticeship prior to April 2017 when the apprenticeship levy was introduced.