Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department plans to collect to assess the effectiveness of its targeted support to help SMEs offer apprenticeships.

Small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are important to the economy and to apprenticeships. They provide valuable opportunities for younger apprentices and apprentices from disadvantaged areas.

The department collects and publishes data on apprenticeship starts in SMEs. Around 40% of apprenticeship starts are in SMEs and they account for more than 100,000 apprenticeship starts each year.

The government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16-21, and for apprentices aged 22-24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been, or are, in local authority care, when they undertake apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers.

For all other apprentices, employers that don’t pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs.

The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHC plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.