Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on increasing the apprenticeship rates of the National Minimum Wage.

As Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills, I work with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the annual remit for the Low Pay Commission (LPC), who are responsible for making recommendations to the government about minimum rates of pay including the Apprenticeship Minimum Wage.

The government implemented in full the LPC’s 2019 recommendations. These included an apprentice rate as well as taking into account the long-term benefits that apprentices derive from training, the needs of employers and individual sectors and wider labour market pressures.

The current Apprentice National Minimum Wage rate rose to £3.90 per hour in April 2019, up from £3.70 per hour. This is a 5.4% increase and the apprentice rate is now at a record high in nominal and real terms. The LPC estimate that this rise will benefit up to 36,000 apprentices.