Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have spent more than half the funds in their apprenticeship levy account, for each of the past five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue & Customs. The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.
In England, employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.
Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.
The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts does not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy-paying empoyers and is not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years.
The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent more than 50% of the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
FY | Number of employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds | Percentage of total employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds |
2018/19 | 4,210 | 27% |
2019/20 | 6,000 | 36% |
2020/21 | 6,080 | 35% |
2021/22 | 6,580 | 35% |
2022/23 | 6,970 | 35% |
The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and have improved the transfer system to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25%, so levy-paying employers could transfer more of their annual funds to support any employer. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
FY (of allowance calculation) | Employers who used all their transfer allowance | Percentage of total employers who used all their transfer allowance |
2018/19 | 70 | 0.4% |
2019/20 | 170 | 1.0% |
2020/21 | 280 | 1.6% |
2021/22 | 370 | 2.0% |
2022/23 | 270 | 1.4% |
With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to use their funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer the noble lady to the answer of 10 November 2023 to Question 614.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have transferred the maximum 25 per cent of apprenticeship levy funds to other businesses, for each of the past five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue & Customs. The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.
In England, employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.
Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.
The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts does not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy-paying empoyers and is not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years.
The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent more than 50% of the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
FY | Number of employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds | Percentage of total employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds |
2018/19 | 4,210 | 27% |
2019/20 | 6,000 | 36% |
2020/21 | 6,080 | 35% |
2021/22 | 6,580 | 35% |
2022/23 | 6,970 | 35% |
The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and have improved the transfer system to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25%, so levy-paying employers could transfer more of their annual funds to support any employer. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
FY (of allowance calculation) | Employers who used all their transfer allowance | Percentage of total employers who used all their transfer allowance |
2018/19 | 70 | 0.4% |
2019/20 | 170 | 1.0% |
2020/21 | 280 | 1.6% |
2021/22 | 370 | 2.0% |
2022/23 | 270 | 1.4% |
With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to use their funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer the noble lady to the answer of 10 November 2023 to Question 614.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the recent police operation at the Kurdish Community Centre in London on relations with that community.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
It is a fundamental principal of British Policing that the police are operationally independent of the government, and it is for them take decisions on enforcement action.
No assessment has been made at this time on community relations following the police operation at the Kurdish Community Centre in London.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy paying employers have spent all funds in their apprenticeship levy account, for each of the past five financial years.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue & Customs. Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.
While levy-paying employers in England can use all their levy funds the majority do not, which allows these funds from the apprenticeship budget to fund apprenticeship training for small and medium sized businesses, so all companies can benefit from training apprentices.
The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent all the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.
Number of employers who spent all levy funds | Percentage of total employers who spent all levy funds | |
2018/19 | 1,620 | 10% |
2019/20 | 2,530 | 15% |
2020/21 | 2,520 | 15% |
2021/22 | 2,620 | 14% |
2022/23 | 2,540 | 13% |
The funds in levy-paying employers’ apprenticeship service accounts do not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and are not the same as the total annual apprenticeships budget. The ring-fenced apprenticeships budget for England is set by HM Treasury and, although closely linked, is distinct from the total levy income collected. In the last two financial years, on average 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent.
Asked by: Baroness Blower (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average training cost of a traineeship.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
In the 2022/23 financial year, the average cost of a traineeship was £2,700. This includes the costs of training and outcome payments, but excludes the cost of the £1,000 incentive payments, introduced in response to COVID-19. As of August 2023, the government has integrated the traineeship programme into the 16-19 study programme and adult education provision.