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.

The approach in West Dorset follows the pattern and approach across the country. The department retains oversight and engagement with all post-16 providers through its Regional Performance Teams. There is a specific focus on working with further education colleges, local authorities and independent training providers who deliver apprenticeships. Each college has an accountability statement which focuses on local and national skills needs and is reviewed by this team. The department reviews the college’s performance on apprenticeships and skills through the Annual Strategic Conversation meeting, and during a spring and autumn review. This information is moderated at a national level.

The Regional Performance Team has undertaken some additional focused work with Coastland College (formerly Weymouth and Kingston Maurward College) in their development following merger in August 2024. There is a clear focus on developing apprenticeships in line with local need.

Several apprenticeships, including Level 2 Autocare Technician, Level 3 Accident Repair technician and Level 4 Vehicle Damage Assessor, are available to support employers and learners in the vehicle repair and salvage sector to develop the skills they need.

To support apprenticeship opportunities in all sectors, this government is investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities and fully fund SME apprenticeships for eligible 16–24-year-olds from the next academic year.

For 16-19-year-olds, the T Level in Engineering and Manufacturing for Maintenance, Installation and Repair includes a specialism in service maintenance and repair activities for light and electric vehicles, helping to equip students with the skills needed for these in-demand sectors.

We have recently closed the consultation seeking views on our proposals on the Post-16 Level 3 and Below Pathways. We will be publishing the government’s response to the consultation in due course, which will set out our plans for V Levels, T Levels and qualifications at Level 2.

This government is transforming the apprenticeships offer into a new growth and skills offer that will give greater flexibility to employers and support young people, including those in Bristol, at the beginning of their careers.

In August, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.

More recently, we have announced our ambition is to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships and backed this with an additional £725 million of investment. This will enable us to expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people. It also provides £140 million to pilot new approaches, with Mayoral Strategic Authorities, to better connect young people aged 16–24, especially those who are NEET, to local apprenticeship opportunities.

We also announced that the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially small and medium sized enterprises), for all eligible people aged under 25. At the moment, this only happens for apprentices aged 16-21 and apprentices aged 22-24 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) or have been, or are, in local authority care.

In addition, we provide £1,000 to both employers and training providers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19-to-24-year-old apprentices who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in care. Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25, when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year.

The government also facilitates and funds the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) which comprises 2,500 employers and apprentices who volunteer to promote the benefits of apprenticeships. It operates across all parts of England, including the South West, through nine regional networks which provide buddying and mentoring support to small businesses to help them recruit and retain apprentices.

The Government have published assessments estimating the impact of high-skilled migrants on the UK economy when changes to the Immigration Rules have been made. Skilled workers are estimated to be net contributors to the economy, particularly those in higher-skilled occupations.

To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact on economic growth of trends in the number of visas granted to highly skilled people.

I thank my noble friend for that question. She is asking about the partners of highly skilled people being required to earn settlement in their own right, as part of plans announced by the Home Secretary last week. As my noble friend referred to, those plans are currently subject to a public consultation. She asks for a commitment to look again. We will, of course, consider the responses to the consultation carefully and in the round before announcing the Government’s next steps, and we will be particularly concerned to avoid some of the unintended consequences that have beset immigration policy in the past.

I thank my noble friend for his Answer. Since I tabled this Question, there have been changes to the planned settlement arrangements for the UK. It is encouraging to see that there are no changes for the global talent visa and high earners, but there are changes for their spouses. It is now clear that they will be decided separately, potentially meaning that a high-earning applicant could receive settlement within three years, yet a stay-at-home spouse might never be eligible. Such a move would obviously have a detrimental impact on talent attraction and growth. Will the Minister look again at the eligibility of spouses for settlement in the forthcoming consultation?

I thank the noble Lord for that question. The Government look at all this in the round. As I think everyone in your Lordship’s House

knows, the overall intention is to reduce net migration, but we are committed to the high skills routes and I am very happy to provide more detail on that later. We will continue to measure not only the incomers but the net effect.

My Lords, have the Government looked at the counterfactual of people leaving these shores, specifically in medical, economic and finance areas, and what that means for our economy? If not, why not?