Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Individualised Learner Record, how many apprenticeship starts there were in 2017-18 (a) by apprentices who were (i) under 25 years old and (ii) over 25 years old and (b) apprenticeship level in each by (A) participation of local areas (POLAR) quintile and (B) eligibility for free school meals.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The department does not hold information on the Individualised Learner Record for apprenticeship starts by participation of local area quintiles (POLAR). However, a publication by the Office for Students published data for 2016/17 on the proportion of apprenticeship starts from POLAR quintiles by apprenticeship level. This publication can be found at the following link: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/analysis-of-degree-apprenticeships/disadvantage/.

The department also does not hold a measure to allow us to publish apprenticeship starts by eligibility for free school meals but does publish apprenticeship starts by indices of multiple deprivation quintile, and by level and age band. This data can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/765589/Index_of_Multiple_Deprivation_201516_to_201718.xlsx.

Apprenticeship starts by age group and apprenticeship level for the 2017/18 academic year are published at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships-july-2019.