Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of the flexibility of the scheme of the CBI's proposal to delay implementation of the apprenticeship levy.

We understand that some organisations want to delay or scrap the levy, but any delay would mean holding back opportunities for people and businesses to gain the skills they need. We are working with the CBI, employers and training providers to make sure the new system works for them. In August we published proposals for how apprenticeships will be paid for in England in the future and invited feedback on these. Following thorough analysis we will publish final details at the end of October.