To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to support small providers of apprenticeship training.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to encourage new entrants into the apprenticeship training market.

Since May 2017, all providers who want to deliver apprenticeship training must be on the register of apprenticeship training providers (RoATP). The introduction of the RoATP, which currently has over 2,600 providers listed, has made it easier for new providers, including small providers, to enter the apprenticeship training market. Ahead of the opening of the RoATP, the Education and Skills Funding Agency raised awareness of the requirement to register and the application process. This included providing webinars, direct engagement and information through representative bodies. Providers who are not on the RoATP, including small providers, are able to operate as a sub-contractor to a main provider who is on the RoATP, up to a limit of £100,000 a year.