Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent discussions his Department has had with Treasury officials on increasing financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises with apprenticeship schemes.

The department works closely with HM Treasury to support apprenticeships and skills provision.

To support non-levy paying employers (who are typically SMEs) with the additional costs associated with employing young apprentices, we are introducing a new apprenticeship hiring payment worth £2,000 when they take on 16–24-year-old apprentices as new employees.

From the next academic year, we will also fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers for all eligible young people aged 16-24, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding for young people. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21, and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.

These changes are part of our plan to deliver 50,000 more apprenticeship opportunities for young people and are supported by £1bn of additional investment over the next three years.

In addition, we provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.