Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to support apprentices who are unable to claim furlough pay during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), all UK employers with a PAYE scheme will be able to access support to continue paying part of the salaries of those employees who would otherwise have been laid off during this crisis. This includes apprentices.

Apprentices who were on the PAYE payroll on or before 19 March 2020 are eligible to be furloughed under the CJRS, should their employer make a claim. Those employed after this date would not be eligible.

The rationale for selecting 19 March as the cut-off date is to reduce the substantial risk of fraud associated in delivering such a large-scale program at pace.

Where employees, including apprentices, are not eligible for the CJRS or have been placed on unpaid leave, Universal Credit may be available as long as they meet the other conditions of entitlement.

Our latest guidance on the support available for apprentices is set out below. This outlines the flexibilities we have introduced so that, where possible, apprentices can continue their learning:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-apprenticeship-programme-response/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-for-apprentices-employers-training-providers-end-point-assessment-organisations-and-external-quality-assurance-pro.

We will continue to keep this guidance under review.