Written question asked by Gregory Stafford (Conservative) on Tuesday, 3 June 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 5 June 2025. It was answered by Janet Daby (Labour) on Friday, 13 June 2025 on behalf of the Department for Education.
Apprentices: Finance
- Question
-
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of withdrawing funding for level 7 apprenticeships for people aged 22 and over on workforce planning in critical public services.
- Answer
-
This government has a driving mission to break down barriers to opportunity.
From January 2026 the government will no longer fund level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22. This will enable apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people and create more opportunities for those entering the labour market, who need skills and training to get on in their careers.
This decision was informed by a wide range of evidence, including Skills England’s analysis of official apprenticeship statistics and engagement with a wide range of stakeholders. Skills England’s evidence suggested there was unlikely to be a significant or unavoidable fall in the supply of these skills in the long term, post-defunding.
We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff over 22 to level 7 where it delivers a benefit to the business and the individual. It will be for employers to determine the most appropriate training. There are alternative training options available to employers at level 7 including non-apprenticeship routes.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 57098
- Session
- 2024-26
- Related items
-
Technical Excellence Colleges: Apprentices
Tuesday, 16 September 2025
Written questions
House of Commons
-
Department of Health and Social Care: Apprenticeship Levy
Thursday, 12 February 2026
Written questions
House of Commons
- Grouped for answer
- Yes
- Subjects
- Apprentices Finance
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Show all related items (17)
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-04-09 09:07:46 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/57098
- In Indexing
- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/57098
- In Solr
- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2024-25/57098