Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions her Department has had with charities on the financial effect of the apprenticeship levy.

Throughout the development of the new apprenticeship funding policy, we have engaged with large numbers of employers from public, private and third sectors, including charities. All their views have added to the shaping of the policy, particularly between the proposals put out in August and the final policy published in October. Later in December HMRC will be publishing their guidance on the collection of the apprenticeship levy, providing employers with the full picture of how the levy is paid and then how it can be used.

We have also published estimates of levy payments by sector, and previous apprenticeship spending by sector: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/545145/Apprenticeships_-expected_levy_and_total_spend_-_Aug_2016.pdf