Area reviews are about ensuring post 16 institutions are in the best state possible to meet the economic and educational needs of their areas and financially resilient for the long term. Colleges will be able to invest any savings created through implementation of area review recommendations in improved front line services, including better delivery of apprenticeships and higher level skills. This is expected to be the position in Greater Manchester, which is due to conclude shortly.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is only able to provide information on overall funding made available for adult learning provision. It does not hold information on learners who pay for provision.

The result of the EU referendum has raised many questions, for all our stakeholders and citizens. However, nothing changes in the immediate term. We will continue taking forward the important legislation that we set before Parliament in the Queen’s Speech, including the Higher Education and Research Bill. We will also continue with our further education reform programme.

On Friday 8 July we published the Post-16 Skills Plan. This is our long-term, ambitious framework to support young people and adults to secure a lifetime of sustained skilled employment and meet the needs of rapidly changing economy by putting employers in the lead. The reforms set out in the Skills Plan, which are based on the findings an independent expert panel chaired by Lord Sainsbury, are just as critical following the EU referendum result.

Our priority will be to work with both the further education and higher education sectors to fully understand the impact of the referendum and help shape our approach for higher and further education in the coming months. We will also continue to focus on high quality apprenticeships and remain committed to 3m starts by 2020.

The employment prospects for our young people are good - the labour market for young people is the strongest it has been for almost 10 years with the employment rate for the 4 million 16-24s not in full-time education being 74.3%.

An impact note on the apprenticeship levy is available online: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-levy/apprenticeship-levy.

The levy will apply to all employers in all sectors with a paybill above £3million with no exceptions.

The Government will support all employers in using the levy funds to invest in apprenticeships and the Department for Business Innovation and Skills is working with employers to create apprenticeships across all sectors.

The Government is committed to ensuring that the UK remains open for business and continues to grow and thrive. On the domestic front we’re investing in boosting the skills of the workforce by increasing the quality and quantity of apprenticeships in England, to reach a commitment of 3 million new apprenticeship starts by 2020. An apprenticeship levy will be introduced from April 2017 to encourage employers to invest in the skills they need. But, as my Rt hon Friend the Prime Minister has said, there will be no immediate changes as a result of the EU referendum, including in the circumstances of EEA citizens living and working in the UK and our visa policies for non-EEA nationals. Ensuring our new relationship with the EU works for business and other employers is a priority for my Department in the months ahead.

We want young people to have opportunities to engage with employers and the world of work throughout their education. This should be an age appropriate approach which begins with work discovery activities in primary school.

We recognise that older children will benefit from an increasing range of employer interventions including inspiring talks, mentoring and work experience. That is why the employer-led Careers & Enterprise Company is increasing the level of employer input into schools and colleges. For example, by rolling out its Enterprise Adviser Network, which works closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships to connect employees from firms of all sizes to schools through a network of volunteer enterprise advisers drawn from business.

We want more young people to have the opportunity to take part in high quality work experience that helps to prepare them for the workplace and develop the employability skills that employers require. Work experience and work placements should be an integral part of most students’ 16-19 study programmes.

Currently the apprenticeship funding rules allow a university graduate to take an apprenticeship standard at a higher level than their current qualification. Further detail on the proposed funding rules that will apply from 2017-18 will be published shortly.

Supported internships offer young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities a clear pathway into employment, including apprenticeships, by equipping them with the skills they need for work. Since September 2013, all qualified post-16 education providers in England can deliver supported internships.

To encourage employers to hire apprentices, the Government funds apprenticeship training for all 16-18 year olds. This level of funding is extended for apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC Plan) aged 19-24. Apprentices aged 19 to 24 without an EHC Plan, who have a learning difficulty and/or disability, can benefit from additional funding through Learning Support.

A Taskforce, led by my hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Cleveleys (Paul Maynard), has been looking at issues around apprenticeships for people with learning difficulties or disabilities. Ministers are currently considering its recommendations.

The priority for younger workers is to secure work and gain experience so that they can compete in the labour market.

The wages of younger workers will continue to be underpinned by the National Minimum Wage as recommended by the Low Pay Commission at the highest possible level without costing jobs.

Earlier this year the Government accepted the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations to increase rate for 21-24 year olds to £6.95 per hour - the largest single increase in the main rate of the NMW since 2008 in cash terms.

The Government has no current plans to quantify the number of paid and unpaid interns. There is no legal definition of an intern, but all those who qualify as ‘workers’ are entitled to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

The Government has no plans to create a legal or standard definition of an internship.

Depending on the reality of the employment relationship an intern could be classed as a worker, an employee or a volunteer.

The Government’s ambition is for the National Living Wage to reach 60% of median earnings by 2020 – which would currently be around £9 per hour. The Government has asked the Low Pay Commission to recommend the National Living Wage rate going forward.

This is a complicated issue and we are considering the most appropriate way to ensure more transparency.

Details of the proportions of employers who paid fees to a provider can be found in The Apprenticeships Evaluation: Employer Survey 2015¹.

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills does not hold information on the financial contributions paid by employers.

¹https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeships-evaluation-employer-survey-2015

The Government has spent the following amounts on TV media to advertise apprenticeships in the financial years since 2006.

These costs are exclusive of VAT.

The Government will publish its response to Professor Waterson’s independent review in due course.

The Government concluded its review of the enforcement provisions of the Consumer Protection against Unfair Trading Regulations (2008) in respect of copycat packaging in October 2015, and the Minister of State for Skills discussed the review with the British Brands Group the following month. The Intellectual Property Office have subsequently been working with industry stakeholders to deliver awareness training to trading standards about copycat packaging and the Government have committed to continue to provide training in the recently published IP Enforcement Strategy 2020.

The Government will help employers who are not paying the levy to meet the costs of apprenticeships training by providing generous financial support. We will ask these employers to make a small contribution. Further detail on funding rates will be published shortly.

Where an employer has spent all of their levy contributions and 10% top-up, and wishes to spend more on additional apprenticeship training, they will be required to make a cash contribution towards the cost. The Government will provide generous support to help meet the additional training costs. Further detail on funding rates will be published shortly.

We are taking action to make it quick and easy to switch suppliers. Last year, we published six switching principles, urging industry to improve their processes.

The Government has challenged the mobile phone operators to unlock handsets for free, and the major operators have committed to doing so.

We are also legislating for easier switching in the communications markets in the Digital Economy Bill.