Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 15 January (HL Deb, col 432), how many young people from gypsy and traveller families have taken up apprenticeships in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those people have accessed support provided for those with learning disabilities.

The table (attached) provides the number of apprenticeship starts by Gypsy and Irish Traveller learners in each academic year from 2011, with breakdowns of age and learning difficulty and/or disability.

Further breakdowns and demographic information is available in our apprenticeship demographic pivot table: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/669034/201617_apprenticeships_detailed_demographic_tool_by_sector_subject_area.xlsx.

We cannot identify learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities who have accessed support from the Individualised Learning Record. However, we want to ensure apprenticeship opportunities are open to people with disabilities. This includes recognising Education, Health and Care Plans in our funding and English and maths policies, and providing extra payments to training providers where an apprentice requires further learning support. Access to Work funding is also available from the Department for Work and Pensions to support adjustments apprentices may need in the workplace.