Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to make Apprenticeship Levy funding more flexible to enable businesses to access it for a wider range of accredited training.

The apprenticeship levy underpins our reforms to raise apprenticeship quality and support employers to make a long-term, sustainable investment in the skills that they need to grow. Income from the levy is used to fund apprenticeships in all employers (both in employers who pay the levy and employers who do not).

In response to employers, we have already introduced the flexibility for levy-payers to transfer up to 25% of their funds, enabling them to support apprenticeship starts in their supply chains or to meet local skills needs. In January, we extended the use of transfers to cover the full cost of training for 16 to 18 year olds and eligible 19 to 24 year olds in employers with fewer than 50 employees.

We are committed to improving the working of the apprenticeship levy to ensure it continues to deliver the skilled workforce that employers need.