Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department plans to make an assessment of the (a) adequacy and (b) potential impact of the regulatory framework for health and safety on the ability of firms to offer entry-level apprenticeships to young people.

Under health and safety law, employers must ensure, so far as is reasonably practical, the health and safety of all employees, of any age. As part of this, there are certain considerations that should be made for young people, including apprentices.

Regulation 19 of The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, deals specifically with employers' responsibilities to protect the health and safety of young people at work. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) provides extensive guidance on its website, to help employers support the important contribution that apprentices make to the world of work, whilst ensuring that risks to their health and safety are properly assessed and controlled. The guidance was last updated in 2022 under the previous administration.