Apprentices: Taxation
(asked on 26th October 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Barran on 25 October (HL2904), how much was spent on the apprenticeship levy between 1 April and 30 September.
The details of apprenticeship budget spend for the 2021-22 financial year will be included in the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts, which is due to be published in the second half of 2022.
The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The annual apprenticeship budget is set by Her Majesty’s Treasury and although closely linked, is distinct from the total levy income collected.
The Spending Review has delivered the first increase to apprenticeships funding since the 2019-20 financial year. Funding will grow to £2.7 billion by the 2024-25 financial year.
The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts are distinct from the department’s annual apprenticeships budget. The table below shows the value of funds spent from levy-paying employers’ accounts in each month between 1 April and 30 September. As this only includes the funds spent by levy-paying employers, this does not represent total spend on apprenticeships for all employers in this period.
Month (2021) | Levy spent (£ million) |
April | £98 |
May | £96 |
June | £99 |
July | £99 |
August | £100 |
September | £79 |
Total | £571 |
Note:
- The payments made from employer accounts within the apprenticeship service are made one month in arrears (i.e. apprenticeship levy funds spent in April relate to delivery in March).
- The cost of additional payments to employers, providers and apprentices, and the cost of payments for English and maths training, is met by the apprenticeship budget and therefore is not deducted from the levy funds in employers’ apprenticeship service accounts.
- The apprenticeship levy is collected by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs from all UK employers with a pay bill above £3 million. The apprenticeship service handles the apprenticeships spend of those employers who choose to register an account with the service.