Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the total levy for the apprenticeship budget was in the 2022–23 financial year; and how much of this was allocated to the devolved governments using the Barnett formula.

The Apprenticeship Levy (AL) is currently paid by large employers, charged at a rate of 0.5% on an employer’s annual pay bill of over £3 million. HMT then sets the Apprenticeship Budget at each Spending Review, which funds all apprenticeship training in England – both existing and new apprenticeships – across all employers. In FY22-23, £2,554 million was allocated to the Apprenticeship Budget in England.

While the Apprenticeship Levy is UK wide, apprenticeship policy and spending is devolved. From FY2017-18 to FY2019-20, the devolved administrations received a population share of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s apprenticeship Levy forecast. Beyond 2019-20, the devolved administrations received funding through the Barnett formula in relation to English apprenticeship spending. The Block Grant Transparency publication which is available on GOV.UK sets out all Barnett consequentials generated at both departmental and programme level. It is for the devolved administrations to allocate their funding in devolved areas as they see fit, including investing in their skills programmes.