Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal by the retailer Timpsons for a more flexible approach to the apprenticeship levy that does not require the use of pre-approved, often non-specialised, training providers in order to qualify for a grant.

​Our apprenticeship reforms have put employers in the driving seat, empowering them to design new high-quality standards that give apprentices the skills that employers need. We are replacing old-style apprenticeship frameworks, which employers told us were not equipping apprentices to do the job. There are now over 420 industry-designed standards available for employers to use. We’ve seen strong uptake of these new standards; during the first half of 2018/19 nearly 60% of apprenticeship starts were on them.

We have introduced the levy to create long-term sustainable investment in high-quality apprenticeship training. Employers are able to choose how to spend their levy, so long as they spend it on apprenticeships. It is important that we maximise the effectiveness of government investment in training and our reforms are making sure that apprenticeships are delivering the high-quality training that both individuals and employers need.

​We have introduced the register of apprenticeship training providers to give employers assurance that the training received by apprentices will be of a high quality. The register ensures that only providers who are appropriately skilled, ready to deliver, and financially stable can access apprenticeship funding. Employers who want to directly deliver apprenticeship training to their own employees can apply to the register, which remains open for applications.