Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on schools in (a) Devon and Plymouth and (b) England; and if he will make a statement.

As with other areas of the public sector, the department will be monitoring the uptake of apprenticeships by the school workforce. Public sector bodies included in the apprenticeship target are required to annually publish and report to the department their progress towards the target. The first reports (covering the period 1 April 2017 – 31 March 2018) are due on 30 September 2018. As we have outlined to the Public Accounts Committee, the department will also include the financial impact of the apprenticeship levy as part of our publication regarding the cost pressures on schools.