Written question asked by Sarah Wollaston (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 March 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 March 2011. It was answered by John Hayes (Conservative) on Tuesday, 22 March 2011 on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

Apprentices: Totnes

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many apprenticeships were created in Totnes constituency in the last 12 months; and what estimate he has made of the number to be created in the next 12 months.

Answer: There were 450 apprenticeship starts in Totnes parliamentary constituency in 2009/10, the latest year for which full year data are available.The apprenticeships programme is demand led; Government does not set targets for apprenticeships but provides funding and forecasts the overall number of places that may be afforded. We rely on employers and providers to work together to offer sufficient opportunities to meet local demand.This is underpinned by this Government's commitment that by 2014-15, we will have in place sufficient funding for 75,000 more adult apprenticeship places than the previous Government were providing.Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 27 January:"http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current"

Secondary information