Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the apprenticeship levy on the training requirements of small and medium-sized firms unable to access the levy.

When the apprenticeships levy is introduced in April 2017, small and medium sized employers will continue to have access to government funding to support apprenticeships. We will provide further details on the support available later this year.