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Written question asked by John Cooper (Conservative) on Monday, 29 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 July 2026. It was answered by Andrew Western (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 July 2026 on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.

Apprentices: Accountancy

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether all apprenticeship providers, employers and end-point assessment organisations have been informed of the funding bands, eligibility criteria and delivery arrangements that will apply to new Level 7 apprenticeship starts later this year; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of levels of certainty on recruitment, workforce planning and apprenticeship provision.

Answer

Apprenticeships are a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.

This Government is investing in young people’s futures and reversing the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts amongst young people – which have fallen by 40% over the last decade.

As communicated in the Written Statement of 2 June 2025, the government no longer funds level 7 apprenticeships, equivalent to master’s degree level, except for young apprentices under the age of 22, and those under 25 who are care leavers or have an Education, Health and Care Plan. This will create more opportunities for those entering the labour market and help apprenticeships opportunities to be rebalanced towards young people.

Employers and apprenticeship training providers were also notified of the changes to Level 7 apprenticeship funding in June 2025.

This decision was informed by a 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. Skills England has published a report on their findings: Skills England: evidence on defunding of level 7 apprenticeships - GOV.UK

We are encouraging more employers to invest in upskilling their staff aged 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. The department has published guidance on privately funded apprenticeships, which will enable employers to privately fund level 7 apprenticeships for staff aged over 22: Privately funded apprenticeships: rules and guidance - GOV.UK(opens in a new tab).

The Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that it will fund the ongoing provision of level 7 apprenticeships in five professions including Specialist Community Public Health Nurse, District Nurse and Advanced Clinical Practitioner.

Apprenticeship starts for the Level 7 Accountancy or Taxation Professional standard are published in the Apprenticeships Accredited Official Statistics publication.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
14240
Session
2026-27
Related items
Apprenticeships and Skills Training
Monday, 2 June 2025
Written statements
House of Commons
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Accountancy Apprentices Finance Eligibility Recruitment
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk