Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the funding bands for apprenticeship standards in the context of recent trends in the level of inflation.

There have been over 5.4 million apprenticeship starts since 2010, and the department investing £2.7 billion in 2024/25 to support all employers to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training.

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) has implemented a refined and evidence-based approach to determining funding band recommendations. This new approach ensures that the recommended funding bands more accurately align with the true cost of delivering apprenticeships. An average of 6-10 apprenticeship standards undergo review, frequently leading to increased funding. A recent example of this positive impact is the funding for Level 2 Hair Professional standard, which saw a substantial increase from £7,000 to £11,000

The department recognises the impact inflation continues to have on apprenticeships delivery. In response to this, in January 2023, IfATE announced Exceptional Funding Band Reviews to help employers and providers tackle rising costs.

These reviews are targeted at high-volume apprenticeships in skills shortage occupations and priority sectors. These apprenticeships have been chosen following consultation with provider representative bodies, taking account of available evidence on the impact of cost inflation on apprenticeships delivery.

The department is working at pace to complete this review, and in the meantime, we continue to revise apprenticeship standards through our regular process to ensure they reflect delivery costs. IfATE will carefully consider the evidence in each case to ensure that successful delivery of apprenticeships continues across all standards.