Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Apprenticeship Levy funding is used in its entirety rather than being returned to His Majesty's Treasury.

The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the government’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training. The levy is enabling the department to increase investment in apprenticeships to £2.7 billion by 2024/25, encouraging more employers across the country to recruit new apprentices.

In the last two financial years, on average, 98% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent. Where large employers do not make full use of their levy funds, the department reinvests this money to support apprenticeships in small and medium-sized employers who do not pay the levy. It is therefore important that the apprenticeships budget remains ring-fenced to support the demand by employers for high-quality apprenticeship training.

To make it easier for employers to make full use of their levy contributions, the department has created flexible training models, such as flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, to make apprenticeships more accessible for employers. The department has also improved the transfer system to make it easier for levy paying employers to find other employers who wish to take on new apprentices with transferred funds.

The department has worked with employers to develop over 680 high-quality apprenticeship standards, and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education will review the content of 100 apprenticeship standards in sectors like construction and healthcare by the end of December 2023, so they reflect the latest technological developments.

The department is also providing an additional £40 million over the next two years to support degree apprenticeship providers to expand and help more people access this provision, on top of its £8 million investment in 2022/23.​

The department continues to promote apprenticeships to young people in schools and further education colleges across the country through its Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge programme, and UCAS are expanding its service to allowing students to search for and apply to apprenticeships alongside degrees.