Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the average annual training cost per apprentice borne by small businesses in the personal services sector.

The department does not hold a breakdown of apprenticeships data for the personal services sector.

The government offers a range of financial support to support small businesses across all sectors to take on apprentices. The government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16-21, and for apprentices aged 22-24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan or have been, or are, in local authority care, when they under-take apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers.

For all other apprentices, employers that do not pay the levy are required to co-invest 5% towards apprentice training costs.

The government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHC plan or have been, or are, in local authority care.