Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of the staff employed by his Department are apprentices.

As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021.

Core Defra has achieved 1% of the total staff employed within the department. A further 57 apprentices are currently being enrolled and we expect these to be fully enrolled by 31/03/21.

This target is a percentage of the total workforce so the percentage attained will change in line with workforce fluctuations over time, making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found here. The data for 2019/20 can be found here.

Defra has an apprenticeship strategy which has the following priorities:

1. Increase the use of apprenticeships in external recruitment
2. Use targeted apprenticeship recruitment to improve inclusion/ diversity of workforce
3. Promote the use of apprenticeships to support the development of existing employees at all grades
4. Increase/maximise levy usage

Defra is launching three recruitment campaigns in National Apprenticeship Week (8–14 February) for the following apprenticeships: Project Management Level 4; Policy Officer Level 4; Business Administration Level 3.

Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target.