Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to agree the share of the Apprenticeship Grant for employers for Greater Manchester as part of the Greater Manchester devolution deal.

My rt. hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable) has asked the Skills Funding Agency to calculate a share of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers for devolution to Greater Manchester that is proportionate to their current share of apprenticeship activity. This is being done as a priority with the aim of devolving the budget formally from April 2015. Discussions are ongoing with Greater Manchester and we expect formal agreement to follow in early February.