Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for the target figures for the number of apprenticeships of the proportion of businesses that plan to reconfigure existing training into apprenticeships according to the 2017 CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey.

We encourage businesses to look at how to use apprenticeships effectively within their organisations to meet their skills needs, as part of the wider training they provide.

No existing training scheme can be reconfigured as an apprenticeship and receive public funding unless it meets strict quality and eligibility criteria i.e. it lasts at least 12 months, provides substantial new training for the individual (including a minimum 20% off-the-job training), and meets a recognised framework or standard.

We have reaffirmed our commitment to reach 3 million new apprenticeship starts in England by 2020 and are still on track to meet that - with 1 million starts since May 2015.