Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of contracts awarded through the apprenticeship levy were valued at less than £500,000.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency do not award contracts through the apprenticeship levy; providers are admitted to the register of apprenticeship training providers and employers select them to deliver the training that they need.

In regards to non-levy contracts awarded under the recent non-levy apprenticeship procurement, 351 contracts, approximately 49 per cent of contracts granted were for values under £500,000.