Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies on apprenticeship of the British Hair Consortium’s report entitled Securing the future of UK hairdressing and beauty: The economic, fiscal & societal case for VAT reform, published in February 2025.

The hair and beauty sector have developed several high-quality apprenticeships, including the level 2 hairdressing professional standard, and the department continues to encourage employers in the sector to use apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need.

To support smaller employers to access apprenticeships, the government pays the full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can also benefit from £1000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care. Employers can choose how they spend these payments.

As the report highlights, we recognise that the increase to employer National Insurance contributions will have a varying impact across all sectors. Employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, where they earn less than £50,270 a year.

This government also remains committed to ensuring that apprentice wages support the attraction of talented individuals into apprenticeships and remain fair for employers.