Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 20 December 2018 (HL12385), what proportion of the £2.5 billion available for apprenticeships in England in 2019–20 will be invested in the construction, planning and built environment sector.

We cannot predict the proportion of future apprenticeships investment in a specific sector because spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand-led. Therefore, employers choose the type, level and quantity of apprenticeships they offer as well as the level of these apprenticeships.

Individual employers have control over where apprenticeship funds are spent to meet their current and future skills needs. Employers who pay the levy can transfer up to 10% of their annual funds to other employers and this proportion will increase to 25% from April 2019.

This is one way in which we are supporting local skills needs and helping sectors, such as the construction, planning and built environment sector, to build sustainable capability for the future.