Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has plans to encourage businesses to run new apprenticeship schemes.

The department is increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. We are also encouraging the use of more flexible training models, such as accelerated and flexi-job apprenticeships, so that employers in all sectors can benefit from apprenticeships and apprentices can attain occupational competence as quickly as possible.

We recognise the important role that small-and-medium-sized employers (SMEs) play in creating apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for younger people and those in disadvantaged areas. On 1 June, we reset the reservation levels for all employers who do not pay the levy to zero. This means that employers will be able to make up to 10 new reservations to fund new starts.

We continue to make improvements to the apprenticeship levy transfer system to make it easier for large employers to make full use of their levy funds and support starts in their supply chain, sector, or local area, and to support more employers, including SMEs, to meet local or sectorial skills needs.

We also provide £1,000 payments to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged between 16 and 18 years old, helping to support younger people into apprenticeships.