Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the barriers to increasing the number of apprenticeship starts.

We seek the opinions of current and potential users of apprenticeships on a regular basis to identify the impact of our reforms. This includes the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s (ESFA) day to day conversations and departmental engagement with businesses, providers and apprentices which include regular ministerial meetings.

Some recent changes that have been made as a result of this continual engagement include introducing flexibility for levy-paying employers to transfer up to ten per cent of their levy to other employers. Furthermore, the Institute for Apprenticeships’ ‘Faster and Better’ process will speed up and simplify standards development. In addition, the ESFA ‘Apprenticeship Service Roadmap’ outlines the most significant developments to the apprenticeship service over the coming months, continuing to deliver improvements which meet employer and provider needs.