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.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the Department for Education's 2022–23 apprenticeship spend applied to new starts; and what proportion to ongoing costs for apprentices already in training, both (1) overall, and for (2) levy-payers and non-levy-payers separately.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the Department for Education's 2022–23 apprenticeship spend applied to (1) levy-payers, and (2) non levy-payers.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what apprenticeship budget was set for the Department for Education in the 2022–23 financial year; and what proportion of that was spent.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of apprenticeship starts in financial year 2022–2023 with (1) levy-paying and (2) non-levy paying employers undertook their training in (a) independent training providers, (b) general further education colleges, and (c) other providers.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

Apprenticeship starts by provider type and funding type for the 2022/23 academic year are shown in the following tables.

Note:

(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(2) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.

These figures are published in the ‘apprenticeships statistics’ publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of apprenticeship starts in the financial year 2022–2023 undertook their training in (1) independent training providers, (2) general further education colleges, and (3) other providers.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

Apprenticeship starts by provider type and funding type for the 2022/23 academic year are shown in the following tables.

Note:

(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(2) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.

These figures are published in the ‘apprenticeships statistics’ publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many organisations were liable to pay the apprenticeship levy in (1) 2019–2020 and (2) 2022–2023.

Answered by Lord Livermore - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

In 2019-20, 30,600 employers paid the apprenticeship levy, and in 2022-23, 34,200 employers paid the apprenticeship levy.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many private sector organisations operating as independent training providers supplied publicly funded training to apprentices in the financial years (1) 2018–19, (2) 2019–20, (3) 2020–21, (4) 2021–22, and (5) 2022–23; and of those, how many (a) supplied such training in 2018–19 but not 2022–23, and (b) supplied training in every one of those years.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The number of providers in the 'Private Sector Publicly Funded’ provider type with participating apprentices between the 2018/19 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the table below. A category that corresponds to 'Independent Training Providers' is not available

Of the 1021 providers in the 2018/19 academic year, 373 did not have any participating learners in 2022/23, whilst 642 providers had participating learners in each of the years shown.

Please note:
(1) Data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

(2) Figures are derived from the ‘Underlying data - apprenticeship participation’ supporting file that accompanies the Apprenticeships statistics publication, found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

(3) Providers have at least one funded apprenticeship in the academic year shown.

(4) Providers are identified based on unique UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) number. Providers that have merged and changed UKPRN will not be matched as the same provider between different academic years.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of the adult education budget was, or has been, allocated to Combined Mayoral Authorities in (1) 2023–24, (2) 2024–25, and (3) 2025–26, under devolution agreements.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

The adult skills fund (ASF), formerly the adult education budget (AEB), is worth £1.34 billion this year, and funds education and skills training for those aged 19 and above to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. The AEB transitioned into the ASF as of this academic year 2024/25.

The proportion of the AEB that was allocated to Mayoral Combined Authorities in the 2023/24 academic year was 58.96%. In the 2024/25 academic year this was 62.00%. Decisions about the 2025/26 academic year are subject to the forthcoming Spending Review.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the effect of restricting eligibility to the 'Free courses for jobs' to those earning under £25,000 on the number of courses offered which deliver qualifications covered by the initiative.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

In the academic year 2022/23 there were 24,740 enrolments on the free courses for jobs programme.

The department does not collect salary data on individual learners and are unable to answer how many of these learners were earning more than £25,000.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were enrolled on courses funded under the 'Free courses for jobs' scheme in 2022–23; and how many of them were earning more than £25,000.

Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Education)

In the academic year 2022/23 there were 24,740 enrolments on the free courses for jobs programme.

The department does not collect salary data on individual learners and are unable to answer how many of these learners were earning more than £25,000.

Found: Wolf of Dulwich.

Found: Layard; Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke; Lord Londesborough; Lord Razzall; Lord Rooker; Lord Turnbull; Baroness

Found: Title Schedule 2 [Amendments marked ★ are new or have been altered ] Clause 4 LORD ABERDARE BARONESS

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee is launching an inquiry into the relationship between the welfare system and long-term sickness in Great Britain, as a follow up to its 2022 inquiry into economic inactivity.