Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July 2019 to Question 274454, whether his Department plans to collect data which would enable an assessment of the amount of apprenticeship levy money that was (a) paid by and (b) spent on apprenticeships by screen industry companies in financial year 2018-19.

The apprenticeship levy is collected by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) from employers with a pay bill in excess of £3 million per year. HMRC does not collect data which allows levy collection to be broken down by sector.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) does not require levy-paying employers to register a sector when they set up an online apprenticeship service account to manage their funds. Therefore, ESFA are unable to supply information on the sectoral distribution of spending on apprenticeships. There are currently no plans to change the registration process to collect this information from employers registering for an apprenticeship service account.

We are working closely with employers in the creative industries, including companies in the screen industry, so they can realise the benefits of apprenticeships. The Department for Digital Culture, Media and Sport is developing an innovative pilot which will enable apprentices to benefit from hands-on experience on the sets of major films and television shows. Launching later this year, it will explore a new model that fulfils the requirements of high-quality apprenticeships, but uses multiple placements on film and television productions, as well as addressing skills shortages.