Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to reach the public sector apprenticeship target.

Since the introduction of the public sector apprenticeship target in April 2017 my Department has offered a range of apprenticeships across 7 different standards and frameworks. We have participated in external recruitment campaigns to appoint apprentices, including the Civil Service Fast Track Apprenticeship Scheme and cross-government Policy Apprenticeship campaigns. We also hold an annual Apprenticeship Week each year within the Department to promote the benefits of apprenticeships and have converted a number of existing Civil Servants to become apprentices, including within our HR Profession.