Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 31 of the Government's Loneliness strategy, what progress he has made on encouraging employers to offer work placements and apprenticeships to young people with special educational needs or disabilities.

We are aiming to increase the proportion of apprenticeships started by people with a learning disability or learning difficulty (LDD) to 20% by 2020. During the first 3 quarters of 2018/19, 12.3% of starts were by apprentices who identified as having LDD, up from 11.5% reported at the same time last year.

Traineeships support young people identified as having LDD to gain work experience through work placements. In 2017/18, 21% of starts were by young people who identified as having LDD.

To support employers to offer opportunities to people with LDD, the department is funding a range of resources for employers on work experience, traineeships, apprenticeships and employment for those with LDD. We are also funding the Learning and Work Institute to create an employer toolkit on widening participation.

We are also continuing to work with Mencap to take forward the recommendations from their July report to make apprenticeships more accessible.

We continue to provide financial support to training providers where an apprentice requires additional support to help remove barriers for people with LDD. Up to £150 a month may be paid to training providers to fund additional support. In specific circumstances, this amount can rise to £19,000 per year if necessary.

Providers and employers recruiting apprentices aged 19 to 24 with Education, Health and Care plans continue to receive an additional payment of £1000. Providers and employers who recruit 16 to 18 year olds receive £1000 regardless of whether they have LDD.