Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much of the Apprenticeship Levy was returned to the Treasury in each of the last three years.

The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The government does not currently have any plans to review the apprenticeship levy.

The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget against the apprenticeship expenditure for the last three financial years (FY).

In the 2021/22 financial year, 99.6% of the apprenticeships budget was spent. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced to support the demand by employers for high-quality apprenticeship training.

The government is increasing apprenticeship funding to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year and is continuing to improve the apprenticeships system to support employers fill their vacancies and train their workforces to address industry skills gaps.

The department has worked with employers to develop over 660 high-quality apprenticeship standards, including in hospitality and retail occupations. We have also created flexible training models, like flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, and improved the levy transfer system so it is easier for levy paying employers to make full use of their levy funds.