Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to encourage more employers to offer apprenticeships to people with disabilities.

We are working to ensure that a Learning Difficulty or Disability (LDD) is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits that an apprenticeship offers or to employers who want to make a long-term investment in the skills they need to grow. We have seen increases in the proportion of apprenticeship starts by people declaring an LDD in recent years, rising to 12% of starts in 2018/19 from 11.2% in 2017/18 and 10.3% in 2016/17.

To ensure that employers are supported to create new apprenticeship opportunities, we provide targeted financial support directly to training providers to help remove barriers for people with a LDD. This includes paying £150 a month to providers for additional support. In specific circumstances, this amount can rise to a maximum of £19,000 per year where necessary. Providers and employers recruiting an apprentice aged 19 to 24 with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) receive an additional payment of £1000. We also pay 100% of the cost of training for small employers with fewer than 50 employees who take on apprentices who have an EHCP. Disabled apprentices may also receive help from Access to Work to pay for workplace adaptations, job coaches, transport, special equipment and other forms of support.

We are also prioritising sharing good practice. Our Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network has grown to 75 members and brings together employers committed to improving diversity in their apprenticeship programmes, including for those with disabilities:

https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/apprenticeship-diversity-champions-network.

We have integrated the Department for Work and Pensions Disability Confident campaign into the apprenticeship recruitment service. Therefore, the Disability Confident logo is displayed on apprenticeship vacancies for registered employers.