Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the availability and accessibility of supported apprenticeships and supported internships for young people with Education, Health and Care Plans; whether a centrally held list of such apprenticeships and internships exists at a national or regional level; which Department or body is responsible for maintaining and communicating that information; and what steps are being taken to (a) improve transparency, (b) ensure such information is made publicly available and (c) ensure timely and coordinated responses between relevant Departments in supporting young people into suitable placements.

Since 2022, the department has invested around £33 million in supported internships to provide more opportunities for young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) to transition into sustained, paid employment.

As set out in the SEND Code of Practice, local authorities must keep their educational and training provision under review, including the sufficiency of provision, and each local authority’s local offer must include information on supported internships.

The availability of apprenticeships is determined by employers choosing to offer apprenticeship opportunities. The ‘Find an Apprenticeship’ service allows people to identify opportunities from Disability Confident employers.

The government is working to ensure that a learning difficulty or disability is not a barrier to people who want to realise the benefits of an apprenticeship. Additional Learning Support funding is available to training providers to make reasonable adjustments to support apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities. The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an education, health and care plan, or have been, or are, in local authority care.