Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of employees who work for companies who will have to pay the Apprenticeship Levy who are ineligible to complete an apprenticeship by virtue of being temporary or seasonal employees.

The Government is committed to increasing the quality and quantity of apprenticeships to reach the objective of 3 million apprenticeships starts in England by 2020.

The apprenticeship seasonal worker pilot, which started on 1 April 2016 and is scheduled to end in July 2018, was set up to address employer concerns from within the hospitality and tourism sectors to enable apprentices to complete their training over 16-18 months, instead of 12, with a break in the middle to undertake other activities.

Departmental officials continue to engage with a range of companies - including PGL, TUI, Merlin Entertainments, Eurocamp, Monarch Airlines and Parkdean Holidays - as well as colleges across the country to take this forward.

From May 2017, apprenticeships that are started by seasonal workers under this pilot will be funded in the same way as other apprenticeships, including by levy-paying employers using funds in their digital accounts. They will be able to undertake an apprenticeship and receive all of the benefits that a quality apprenticeship can provide.

There has been no assessment made of the number of employees who work for companies that will have to pay the apprenticeship levy who are ineligible to complete an apprenticeship by virtue of being temporary or seasonal employees. We are working closely with seasonal employers to understand their needs and support them to benefit from apprenticeships.