Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans the Government has to devolve apprenticeships budgets to combined authorities.

On 10th July Her Majesty’s Treasury published the UK’s Productivity Plan, Fixing the Foundations – creating a more prosperous nation https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-the-foundations-creating-a-more-prosperous-nation. This document sets out a 15-point plan that the Government will put into action to boost the UK’s productivity growth, centred on two key pillars: encouraging long-term investment, and promoting a dynamic economy.

This sets a clear direction of travel for FE and skills funding: funding for apprenticeships will be routed through employers and we will develop local involvement in the commissioning of provision to give the sector the agility to meet changing skills requirements in the years ahead. We will provide more detail in the autumn.

The Government is introducing a UK-wide levy to help fund the increase in quantity and quality of apprenticeship training. The levy will raise money to fund increases in apprenticeship numbers and quality and will be entirely funded by the contributors.

The Government is open to discussing proposals from any area for increased powers and greater freedoms to maximise their economic growth, providing the case can be made that there is both strong governance and the capacity and capability to deliver.