Asked by: Lord Grade of Yarmouth (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals from the UK's screen industries and others for reform of the apprenticeship levy to increase the numbers of skilled new entrants needed to meet demand.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
Apprenticeships offer businesses in the screen industries an opportunity to make a long-term, sustainable investment in training and promote diversity in the workforce.
We have already responded to feedback from businesses by introducing flexibilities in our funding rules. This includes increasing the time for employers to spend their levy funds from 18 to 24 months and raising the transfer cap from 10% to 25% this year. Levy-paying employers will be able to transfer funds to as many smaller employers or charities as they wish, in order to support the development of skills in their supply chain or respond to skills shortages in their sector. In the Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer also announced up to £240 million of additional funds to halve apprenticeship training costs for smaller employers. We continue to keep all aspects of apprenticeship funding policy under review.
We recognise that co-ordinating and delivering apprenticeship training can be a challenge for smaller employers in the screen industries. We are working closely with Screen Skills in response to their report in order to explore how employers can take advantage of flexible delivery of off-the-job training including, potentially, through Apprenticeship Training Agencies. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has a £2 million funding package under the creative industries sector deal, which includes support for employers to help them accelerate the development of up to 20 new apprenticeship standards. DCMS will work with the Institute for Apprenticeships to identify skills gaps and understand how the apprenticeship programme can support the priorities identified in the Industrial Strategy.