Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether employers will be able to direct unused funds from their apprenticeship levy accounts towards supporting training apprentices working with (a) their distributers and (b) other companies in their supply chain.

We want to give employers in England flexibility in how they use levy funds to pay for apprenticeship training that meets their needs. We know that some employers want to direct their funding to other employers, for instance their suppliers. We will consider ways this could be accommodated whilst avoiding additional complexity, maintaining the aims of the system and remaining compatible with State aid rules.