Asked by: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government what the total levy for the apprenticeship budget was in the 2022–23 financial year; and how much of this was allocated to the devolved governments using the Barnett formula.
Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Apprenticeship Levy (AL) is currently paid by large employers, charged at a rate of 0.5% on an employer’s annual pay bill of over £3 million. HMT then sets the Apprenticeship Budget at each Spending Review, which funds all apprenticeship training in England – both existing and new apprenticeships – across all employers. In FY22-23, £2,554 million was allocated to the Apprenticeship Budget in England.
While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. From FY2017-18 to FY2019-20, the devolved administrations received a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship Levy forecast. Beyond 2019-20, the devolved administrations received funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending. The Block Grant Transparency publication which is available on GOV.UK sets out all Barnett consequentials generated at both departmental and programme level. It is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.
Asked by: Lord Allen of Kensington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to introduce the Skills England bill.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)
The Skills England Bill will be introduced as soon as Parliamentary time allows. The Bill will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to Skills England, and will be an important part of steps taken to establish Skills England in phases over the next 9 to 12 months.
Asked by: Paul Davies (Labour - Colne Valley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to provide further support to young people seeking to start apprenticeships.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
This government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy to create opportunities for learners of all ages, including young people at the start of their careers, and to give employers greater flexibility to train and upskill their workforce.
The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in identifying the training for which the Growth and Skills Levy will be accessible and ensuring that those training programmes, including apprenticeships, are well designed and delivered to meet the needs of both learners and businesses.
Asked by: Mark Ferguson (Labour - Gateshead Central and Whickham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships started in Gateshead Central and Whickham constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeship starts are published at parliamentary constituency level in the Apprenticeships official statistics, which is available here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/apprenticeships. Data for Gateshead Central and Whickham by academic year from 2018/19 to 2022/23 can be found in the dataset called ‘Geography - New Parliamentary Constituency Breakdowns’.
Asked by: Anneliese Midgley (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many apprenticeships have started in Knowsley constituency in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Apprenticeship starts are published at parliamentary constituency level in the Apprenticeships official statistics, which is available here; https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/apprenticeships. Data for Knowsley for the academic years 2013/14 to 2022/23 can be found in the dataset called ‘Geography LA, PCON and Region - Starts since May 2010 and 2015’.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the economic impact of growth and skills levy proposals to allow levy-paying companies to retain 50% of their contributions.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces and drive economic growth.
The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of levy paying and non-levy paying businesses.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much her Department spent on communications in the last year for which data is available.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department uses marketing to support the delivery of strategic aims and government priorities, including to recruit teachers and early years professionals, reform the skills landscape, and drive take up of products and services like apprenticeships, T Levels and childcare entitlements.
The department’s total spend on advertising and communications was £48 million in 2023/24. More information on the department’s accounts for 2023/24, the last year for which data is available, can be found in the link below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/66a78085ce1fd0da7b592e80/DfE_consolidated_annual_report_and_accounts_2023_to_2024_-_web-optimised_version.pdf.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding the retention of 50% of the contributions of apprenticeship levy-paying companies.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces and drive economic growth.
The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of levy paying and non-levy paying businesses.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 18 October 2023 to Question 201370 on Apprentices: Finance, how she plans to fund the policy of allowing levy-paying companies to retain 50% of their contributions under the Growth and Skills levy.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces and drive economic growth.
The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of levy paying and non-levy paying businesses.
Asked by: Gareth Bacon (Conservative - Orpington)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the financial impact of the proposed growth and skills levy on (a) non-levy paying companies, (b) the apprenticeship budget and (c) overall apprenticeship spending.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is transforming the Apprenticeship Levy into a new Growth and Skills Levy. The new levy will build on the apprenticeships programme to create opportunities for learners of all ages, give employers of different sizes greater flexibility to address critical skill shortages in their workforces and drive economic growth.
The department is working across government to develop the design of the Growth and Skills Levy and will set out more detail in due course. This will include further information on the role of Skills England in ensuring that levy-funded training delivers value for money and meets the needs of levy paying and non-levy paying businesses.