Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid out to NHS pension scheme members in (1) 2023, and (2) 2024.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows the value of pension benefits paid to NHS Pension Scheme members in financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25:

These figures comprise the value of annual pensions and lump sums paid. It does not include other payments made by the scheme such as contribution refunds or pension tax payments to HM Revenue and Customs.

Annual accounts for the scheme are published for each financial year and record the total value of all payments made. The annual accounts are available on the GOV.UK website and on the NHS Business Service Authority’s website.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much was paid into the NHS pension scheme by (1) NHS employers, and (2) NHS pension scheme members, in (a) 2023, and (2) 2024.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The following table shows how much was paid into the NHS Pension Scheme in the financial years 2023/24 and 2024/25, broken down by the contributions paid into the scheme by employees and employers:

The employee contribution figures include the standard employee contributions, added years, additional pension purchases, and early retirement reduction buy‑out contributions. The employer contribution figures include National Health Service employer contributions for exiting staff, as well as other contributions payable on retirement/redundancy.

Annual accounts for the scheme are published for each financial year online and record the total value of all payments made. The annual accounts are available on the GOV.UK website and on the NHS Business Service Authority’s website.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average duration to apprenticeship gateway and what was the maximum apprenticeship funding available in (1) 2015, (2) 2022, and (3) 2025 for the apprenticeship standards of (a) engineering operative, (b) maintenance and operations engineering technician, (c) engineering technician, (d) hairdressing professional, (e) advanced and creative hairdressing professional, (f) creative, hair and fashion director, and (g) hair, skin and scalp specialist.

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

Apprenticeship starts for individual apprenticeship standards are published in the Apprenticeships accredited official statistics publication:

• 2020/21 to 2024/25 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d12ce978-389f-4d10-e79b-08de72e09202

• 2016/17 to 2019/20 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c5962d9f-97d1-425f-ba6c-08de72dfeafa

Please note that there were no apprenticeship starts on these standards prior to 2016/17. The Hairdressing Professional (ST0213) standard was previously named Hair Professional. No standards exist for (f) and (g).

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

Please note that as the listed standards were not approved until after 2015, the maximum funding available for this year is not available.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people started apprenticeships in (1) 2015, (2) 2017, (3) 2022, and (4) 2024 in the apprenticeship standards of (a) engineering operative, (b) maintenance and operations engineering technician, (c) engineering technician, (d) hairdressing professional, (e) advanced and creative hairdressing professional, (f) creative, hair and fashion director, and (g) hair, skin and scalp specialist.

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

Apprenticeship starts for individual apprenticeship standards are published in the Apprenticeships accredited official statistics publication:

• 2020/21 to 2024/25 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d12ce978-389f-4d10-e79b-08de72e09202

• 2016/17 to 2019/20 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c5962d9f-97d1-425f-ba6c-08de72dfeafa

Please note that there were no apprenticeship starts on these standards prior to 2016/17. The Hairdressing Professional (ST0213) standard was previously named Hair Professional. No standards exist for (f) and (g).

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

Please note that as the listed standards were not approved until after 2015, the maximum funding available for this year is not available.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how much in total was paid to the Teachers' Pension Scheme by (1) teachers, and (2) employers, in (a) 2021, (b) 2022, and (c) 2023; and how much was paid to retired teachers in pension payments in each of those years.

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

In the 2020/21 financial year, a total of £2.48 billion was paid by members into the Teachers’ Pension Scheme (TPS), and £6.15 billion was paid by employers over the same period. £9.41 billion was paid to retired members of the TPS within this financial year.

In the 2021/22 financial year, a total of £2.57 billion was paid by members into the TPS, and £6.357 billion was paid by employers over the same period. £9.563 billion was paid to retired members of the TPS within this financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, a total of £2.65 billion was paid by members into the TPS, and £6.58 billion was paid by employers over the same period. £9.93 billion was paid to retired members of the TPS within this financial year.

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 - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

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

Found: No relevant interests to declare Baroness Wheatcroft No relevant interests to declare Baroness Wolf of Dulwich

Submit Evidence (by 5 Jun 2026)

The Economic Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into fiscal devolution in England. The inquiry will consider what form fiscal devolution might take, its distributional consequences, and what governance arrangements might be needed as more powers are devolved to local areas. The committee has issued a call for written evidence and will be taking oral evidence from May 2025.