Minister of State for Education Anne Milton MP has responded to a written question from Alex Cunningham MP (Lab, Stockton North) on unspent apprenticeship levy funds:

Alex Cunningham: “To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has for the allocation of unspent apprenticeship levy funds; and whether such unspent funds will be ring fenced for skills development.”

Anne Milton: “The Department for Education has a ring-fenced apprenticeship budget which is set regardless of how much levy receipts are each year. This budget was £2.01 billion for the 2017-18 financial year and £2.23 billion for 2018-19.

Spending on the apprenticeship programme is demand led, and employers can choose which apprenticeships they offer and how many. We do not anticipate that all employers who pay the levy will need or want to use all the funds available to them.

Unspent funds are used to cover the ongoing training costs of apprentices that are already in training. They are also used to support levy-paying employers who spend more than the funds available in their accounts and to fund training for non-levy payers.”