Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the growth and skills levy is available to people of all (a) ages and (b) levels.

The department’s reformed growth and skills levy will deliver greater flexibility for employers and learners and is aligned with the government’s industrial strategy, both of which will create routes into good, skilled jobs in growing industries, such as in construction, digital and green skills.

This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity, which means rebalancing levy spending towards young people at the start of their careers whilst ensuring that adults at different stages of their lives can upskill and retrain. The department is developing new foundation apprenticeships in targeted sectors that will help to give more young people a foot in the door and support clear pathways into work-based training and employment.

However, in order to do this, there are tough choices that need to be taken on how levy funding should be prioritised in future. That is why, taking advice from Skills England, the department will be asking more employers to step forward and fund Level 7 apprenticeships outside of the levy.

The department is in the process of designing the growth and skills levy and will set out more detail in due course, including on Skills England’s engagement plans.