Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of extending child benefit to families with children aged under 19 enrolled on apprenticeships.

The Government is not considering extending Child Benefit payments to parents of children aged under 19 enrolled on apprenticeships.

Child Benefit is payable to parents of children up to the age of 16. Between the ages of 16 and 20, it is payable in respect of young people who remain in full-time non-advanced education or approved training provided outside a contract of employment. This includes A-Levels or the equivalent, but not advanced courses such as university degrees.

One of the core principles of an apprenticeship is that it is a paid job with training, allowing apprentices to earn while they learn, and it is treated accordingly in the benefit system. It is therefore appropriate that payments for the young person cease from this point.

For waged apprenticeships, since April 2023 employers are required to pay a minimum wage of £5.28 an hour, and many tend to pay more as young people develop their skills. A young person working 35 hours a week on a waged apprenticeship should earn no less than £184.80 each week.