Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what account his Department takes of inflation when allocating funding for apprenticeships.

Spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand led, and employers can choose which apprenticeships they offer, how many and when.

Funding available for levy-paying employers depends on their levy contributions and how many of their employees live in England. For employers who do not pay the levy, we allocate funding to apprenticeship training providers directly based on our assessment of demand in the system and overall affordability of the programme. The funding allocated to providers is for non-levy starts is not directly inflation-linked.

Separately, the Institute for Apprenticeships is responsible for advising on the funding bands for individual apprenticeships, which are kept under review to make sure they continue to support high-quality delivery and represent value for money.