Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all businesses have the required funding to carry out sufficient on course training for apprenticeships.

The government is committed to supporting employers of all sizes to offer apprenticeships. In the 2021-22 financial year, we are making available £2.5 billion to support apprenticeships in all employers, double what was spent in the 2010-11 financial year.

To support businesses in offering apprenticeships, we have increased the incentive payments to £3,000 for each new apprentice they hire as a new employee between 1 April and 30 September 2021, as part of the government’s Plan for Jobs. These incentive payments are in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice aged 16 to 18, or under 25 for those with an education, health and care plan. In addition, we pay 100% of the training costs for employers with fewer than 50 employees when they take on certain apprentices, including 16 to 18 year olds.

We recognise the enormous value that small and medium-sized enterprises contribute to the UK economy. Smaller employers that do not pay the levy continue to be able to access funding for 95% of apprenticeship training and assessment costs, and can reserve funding for up to 10 new apprenticeship starts in the 2021-22 financial year.