All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the levy. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. HMRC publishes data on UK apprenticeship levy receipts at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. In England, levy paying employers access Government funding for apprenticeships through their employer accounts, which they must set up.

Currently, employers who exhaust the funding in their levy accounts, which includes a 10% Government top-up, can continue to enrol apprentices, with government funding 95% of their training costs for a small contribution of 5%. From August 2026, government will fund 75% of the training and assessment costs once funds are exhausted.

We understand, from our engagement with employers and other stakeholders, that employers with smaller levy balances may be more affected by this change and we will carefully monitor the impact of this change as we implement it.

The department does not publish apprenticeship starts by size of employer pay bill, including starts by size of employer pay bill broken down by age.

All UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the levy. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. HMRC publishes data on UK apprenticeship levy receipts at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk. In England, levy paying employers access Government funding for apprenticeships through their employer accounts, which they must set up.

Currently, employers who exhaust the funding in their levy accounts, which includes a 10% Government top-up, can continue to enrol apprentices, with government funding 95% of their training costs for a small contribution of 5%. From August 2026, government will fund 75% of the training and assessment costs once funds are exhausted.

We understand, from our engagement with employers and other stakeholders, that employers with smaller levy balances may be more affected by this change and we will carefully monitor the impact of this change as we implement it.

The department does not publish apprenticeship starts by size of employer pay bill, including starts by size of employer pay bill broken down by age.

The requested data on how many people started an apprenticeship in thatching, stone masonry (levels 2 and 3) and stained glass crafts, across the specified dates, is set out below:

Level 2 Thatcher (ST0821)

There have been no people starting a Level 2 Thatcher (ST0821) apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in February 2024.

Level 2 Stonemasonry (ST0442)

There have been a total of 243 starts on the Level 2 Stonemasonry (ST0442) apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in June 2021. No data is available for 2015/2016 because the qualification did not exist at the time:

2020/21 – 1 start

2021/22 – 67 starts

2022/23 – 53 starts

2023/24 – 31 starts

2024/25 – 49 starts

2025/26 - 42 starts

There is no Level 3 in Stonemasonry available at present.

Level 4 Stained Glass Craftsperson (ST0912)

There have been a total of 3 starts on this apprenticeship since it was approved for delivery in September 2021: No data is available for 2015/2016 because the qualification did not exist at the time:

2020/21 – 0 starts

2021/22 – 0 starts

2023/24 – 1 start

2024/25 – 2 starts

This has been derived from the Skills England website, where all data regarding apprenticeships is publicly available.

The number of private sector publicly funded providers for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 was:

The number of private sector publicly funded providers with learners participating in both 2018/19 and 2024/25 was 540.

The number of private sector publicly funded providers with learners participating in both 2021/22 and 2024/25 was 762.

The typical duration from apprenticeship start date to apprenticeship gateway and the maximum funding available for standards (a) to (c) are in the below table. This information is published at Apprenticeship search / Skills England.

Apprenticeship starts for individual apprenticeship standards are published in the Apprenticeships accredited official statistics publication:

• 2020/21 to 2024/25 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d12ce978-389f-4d10-e79b-08de72e09202

• 2016/17 to 2019/20 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c5962d9f-97d1-425f-ba6c-08de72dfeafa

Please note that there were no apprenticeship starts on these standards prior to 2016/17. The Hairdressing Professional (ST0213) standard was previously named Hair Professional. No standards exist for (f) and (g).

The typical duration from apprenticeship start date to apprenticeship gateway and the maximum funding available for standards (a) to (e) are in the below table. This information is published at Apprenticeship search / Skills England.

Please note that as the listed standards were not approved until after 2015, the maximum funding available for this year is not available.

Apprenticeship starts for individual apprenticeship standards are published in the Apprenticeships accredited official statistics publication:

• 2020/21 to 2024/25 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/d12ce978-389f-4d10-e79b-08de72e09202

• 2016/17 to 2019/20 academic years: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c5962d9f-97d1-425f-ba6c-08de72dfeafa

Please note that there were no apprenticeship starts on these standards prior to 2016/17. The Hairdressing Professional (ST0213) standard was previously named Hair Professional. No standards exist for (f) and (g).

The typical duration from apprenticeship start date to apprenticeship gateway and the maximum funding available for standards (a) to (e) are in the below table. This information is published at Apprenticeship search / Skills England.

Please note that as the listed standards were not approved until after 2015, the maximum funding available for this year is not available.

In the 2024-25 financial year, the English apprenticeships budget was fully spent.

The following table provides a breakdown of total spend for the 2024-25 financial year, including the proportion of total spend on training for apprenticeships with levy paying employers and training for apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers in England.

In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the apprenticeships levy and new funding system, as well as non-apprenticeships participation spend, such as the cost of running digital services and marketing and communications campaigns.

Section 106 planning obligations are legally binding agreements made to mitigate the impacts of a proposed development. These obligations are an essential part of the planning system, ensuring that developments contribute positively to their surrounding area and address specific concerns that arise as a result of their implementation.

All contributions under Section 106 must adhere to the three statutory tests set out in regulation 122 of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) regulations. Any contribution must be:

• Necessary to make the development acceptable in planning terms;
• Directly related to the development; and
• Reasonable in scale and kind.

Ultimately, the responsibility for determining whether a planning obligation is necessary to make a development acceptable lies with the local planning authority – including any obligation around to apprenticeships and skills.

Current planning practice guidance encourages local planning authorities to facilitate the process of agreeing planning obligations by using and publishing standard forms and templates. These resources may include model agreements and clauses, some of which have already been published by other organisations. Making these documents publicly available assists both authorities and applicants during the planning application process.

Guidance additionally states that policies regarding planning obligations should be clearly set out in local plans and subject to public examination, ensuring transparency and consistency in their application.

The Department for Business and Trade will publish a comprehensive impact assessment alongside the legislation introducing the revised National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage rates early in the New Year. This assessment will provide detailed analysis for each rate including the apprentice rate, the projected number of workers who will benefit and the estimated costs to businesses, broken down by region, age group, and sector.

In addition, the Low Pay Commission have published their summary of evidence on gov.uk, which sets out the key evidence behind their recommendation. Finally, the Low Pay Commission will publish their full annual report in the new year, which will set out in greater detail the evidence and stakeholder feedback that informed their 2026 NMW recommendations.

The attached file contains apprenticeship starts for the 2015/16 to 2024/25 academic years, broken down by region and level, for hairdressing apprentices. These were last published in March 2025. They include full year figures from 2015/16 to 2023/24, and year to date figures for 2024/25 (August 2024 to January 2025).

The most recent years’ data are available in the published ‘Apprenticeships’ statistics, which have been included in the attached file, and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships/2024-25.

In October, Government published 24 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis shows that the Bill is expected to benefit younger workers, typically disproportionately represented in low paid, low quality, insecure jobs.

In October, Government published 24 Impact Assessments representing a comprehensive package of analysis on the impact of the Employment Rights Bill. This analysis shows that the Bill is expected to benefit younger workers, typically disproportionately represented in low paid, low quality, insecure jobs.

The Employment Rights Bill will make basic protection against unfair dismissal a day one right for all employees. The new statutory probation period will provide lighter-touch standards for employers to dismiss an employee who is not suitable. These standards will also apply to apprenticeships and training contracts, requiring adequate evidence to justify dismissal on conduct or capability.

In the 2023/24 financial year, 99% of the revised end-of year English apprenticeships budget of £2,525 million was spent, an underspend of £16 million (£60 million was surrendered in year).

The following table provides a breakdown of total spend for the 2023/24 financial year, including the proportion of total spend on training for apprenticeships with levy paying employers and training for apprenticeships with non-levy paying employers in England. In addition, the table reflects the spend on apprenticeships that started prior to the introduction of the apprenticeships levy and new funding system, as well as non-apprenticeships participation spend, such as the cost of running digital services and marketing and communications campaigns.

Where the department’s apprenticeships budget is underspent by the end of the financial year, funds are returned to HM Treasury in line with standard practice set out in the published consolidated budgeting guidance.

The number of providers in the 'Private Sector Publicly Funded’ provider type with participating apprentices between the 2018/19 and 2022/23 academic years are shown in the table below. A category that corresponds to 'Independent Training Providers' is not available

Of the 1021 providers in the 2018/19 academic year, 373 did not have any participating learners in 2022/23, whilst 642 providers had participating learners in each of the years shown.

Please note:
(1) Data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

(2) Figures are derived from the ‘Underlying data - apprenticeship participation’ supporting file that accompanies the Apprenticeships statistics publication, found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

(3) Providers have at least one funded apprenticeship in the academic year shown.

(4) Providers are identified based on unique UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) number. Providers that have merged and changed UKPRN will not be matched as the same provider between different academic years.

Apprenticeship starts by provider type and funding type for the 2022/23 academic year are shown in the following tables.

Note:

(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(2) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.

These figures are published in the ‘apprenticeships statistics’ publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

Apprenticeship starts by provider type and funding type for the 2022/23 academic year are shown in the following tables.

Note:

(1) Volumes are rounded to the nearest 10.

(2) Total starts are the count of apprenticeships started at any point during the stated academic period. Learners starting more than one apprenticeship will appear more than once.

These figures are published in the ‘apprenticeships statistics’ publication, which can accessed at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships.

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.

The English apprenticeships budget for the 2022/23 financial year was £2,554 million. The total spend was £2,458 million meaning that 96% of the English apprenticeships budget was spent in the 2022/23 financial year.

In the 2022/23 financial year, 69% of the overall apprenticeships spend was spent on apprenticeships for levy paying employers and 29% was spent on apprenticeships for non-levy paying employers. This includes the spend on COVID-19 incentive payments made to employers recruiting new apprentices between August 2020 and January 2022. The remaining 2% was spent on the costs of running the apprenticeships programme.

31% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new apprenticeship starts and 62% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprentices that had started in previous years.

22% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in levy paying employers and 43% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

9% of the department’s apprenticeships spend for the 2022/23 financial year supported new starts in non-levy paying employers and 18% was spent on the ongoing costs of apprenticeships in non-levy paying employers that had started in previous years.

Details of annual apprenticeships spend for the 2023/24 financial year is set out in the department’s annual report and accounts, which was published in July 2024 and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/department-for-education-consolidated-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024.