Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many organisations were liable for the apprenticeship levy in (1) 2023, (2) 2024, and (3) 2025.

Answered by Lord Livermore

The number of employers that paid the Apprenticeship Levy in the 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024, and 2024 to 2025 tax years are outlined in the table below. Figures have been provided on a tax-year receipts basis and rounded to the nearest 100.

Table: Number of employers paying the Apprenticeship Levy

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people started an apprenticeship in (1) thatching, (2) stone masonry level 2, (3) stone masonry level 3, and (4) stained glass crafts, in (a) 2015, (b) 2016, (c) 2021, (d) 2022, (e) 2023, (f) 2024, and (g) 2025.

Answered by Baroness Twycross - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)

The requested data on how many people started an apprenticeship in thatching, stone masonry (levels 2 and 3) and stained glass crafts, across the specified dates, is set out below:

Level 2 Thatcher (ST0821)

There have been no people starting a Level 2 Thatcher (ST0821) apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in February 2024.

Level 2 Stonemasonry (ST0442)

There have been a total of 243 starts on the Level 2 Stonemasonry (ST0442) apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in June 2021. No data is available for 2015/2016 because the qualification did not exist at the time:

2020/21 – 1 start

2021/22 – 67 starts

2022/23 – 53 starts

2023/24 – 31 starts

2024/25 – 49 starts

2025/26 - 42 starts

There is no Level 3 in Stonemasonry available at present.

Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson (ST0912)

There have been a total of 3 starts on this apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in September 2021: No data is available for 2015/2016 because the qualification did not exist at the time:

2020/21 – 0 starts

2021/22 – 0 starts

2023/24 – 1 start

2024/25 – 2 starts

This has been derived from the Skills England website, where all data regarding apprenticeships is publicly available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the maximum apprenticeship funding available in (1) 2019, (2) 2022, and (3) 2025, for the apprenticeship standards for (a) chartered managers, (b) human resource managers, and (c) senior leaders; and what was the average duration of funding for each of those standards.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The typical duration from apprenticeship start date to apprenticeship gateway and the maximum funding available for standards (a) to (c) are in the below table. This information is published at Apprenticeship search / Skills England.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of apprenticeship levy-paying employers spent more than 50 per cent of the funds in their apprenticeship accounts in 2025.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In 2025, 37% of levy payers spent more than 50 per cent of the funds in their apprenticeship service accounts.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many private sector publicly funded providers of apprenticeship training had learner apprentices enrolled in (1) 2022–23, (2) 2023–24, and (3) 2024–25; how many of providers of that type who had participating learners in 2018–19 had participating learners in 2024–25; and how many providers of that type who had participating apprentice learners in 2021–22 did so in 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The number of private sector publicly funded providers for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 was:

The number of private sector publicly funded providers with learners participating in both 2018/19 and 2024/25 was 540.

The number of private sector publicly funded providers with learners participating in both 2021/22 and 2024/25 was 762.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of higher technical qualifications approved for delivery in 2024–25.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

In September 2024, there were 227 qualifications awarded the HTQ quality mark and approved for delivery in the 2024/25 academic year. A further 39 qualifications were awarded the HTQ quality mark between September 2024 and August 2025.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people currently work for Skills England.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

As of May 2026, Skills England employs 252 people.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were employed by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education in 2023.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The average number of full-time equivalent (FTE) persons employed by IfATE in 2023/2024 is 332. This is a monthly average across the financial year. This information can be found attached in The Annual report and Accounts for 2023/2024.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprentices aged (1) 18 or under, (2) 19–24, and (3) 25 and over, were employed in 2025 by employers with an annual pay bill of (a) between £3 million and £3.25 million, and (b) over £3.25 million.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the levy. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. HMRC publishes data on UK apprenticeship levy receipts at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. In England, levy paying employers access Government funding for apprenticeships through their employer accounts, which they must set up.

Currently, employers who exhaust the funding in their levy accounts, which includes a 10% Government top-up, can continue to enrol apprentices, with government funding 95% of their training costs for a small contribution of 5%. From August 2026, government will fund 75% of the training and assessment costs once funds are exhausted.

We understand, from our engagement with employers and other stakeholders, that employers with smaller levy balances may be more affected by this change and we will carefully monitor the impact of this change as we implement it.

The department does not publish apprenticeship starts by size of employer pay bill, including starts by size of employer pay bill broken down by age.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many apprenticeship levy-paying employers have an annual pay bill of between £3 million and £3.25 million; whether they assessed the impact of the increase in the employer co-investment rate for starters from 1 August 2026 on recruitment of apprentices by such employers; and if so, what plans they have to publish that assessment.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the levy. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. HMRC publishes data on UK apprenticeship levy receipts at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. In England, levy paying employers access Government funding for apprenticeships through their employer accounts, which they must set up.

Currently, employers who exhaust the funding in their levy accounts, which includes a 10% Government top-up, can continue to enrol apprentices, with government funding 95% of their training costs for a small contribution of 5%. From August 2026, government will fund 75% of the training and assessment costs once funds are exhausted.

We understand, from our engagement with employers and other stakeholders, that employers with smaller levy balances may be more affected by this change and we will carefully monitor the impact of this change as we implement it.

The department does not publish apprenticeship starts by size of employer pay bill, including starts by size of employer pay bill broken down by age.

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