Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to provide funding to the West Midlands Ambulance Service Student's Paramedic Apprenticeship Programme.

Employers of all sizes can access funding for apprenticeships training and assessment when they need it. The department does not allocate funding to particular employers, apprenticeship standards or sectors.

As a levy paying employer, West Midlands Ambulance Service can utilise their levy funds to invest in the high-quality apprenticeships training they choose. The West Midlands Ambulance Service is also registered and approved to deliver apprenticeships training for other employers.

To support more employers across the country, including the National Health Service (NHS), to recruit new apprentices, the department is increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year.

The NHS have recently published their long-term workforce plan which puts apprenticeships and skills at the heart of the NHS workforce strategy. The proportion of paramedics who will be trained through apprenticeships will be between 25 – 50% by 2031/32.

These apprenticeships will make medical professions more accessible and help to build a highly skilled and diverse NHS workforce that is more representative of local communities.