To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much from the public purse was spent in the (a) 2021-22 and (b) 2022-23 academic year by the Education and Skills Funding Agency on apprenticeship grant payments to (i) employers and (ii) training providers that took on apprentices aged (A) 16 to 18, (B) 19 to 25 and who had an education, health and care plan provided by their local authority and (C) 19 to 25 who had been in the care of a local authority.

The government pays employers and training providers £1,000 each for taking on an apprentice who is either aged 16 to 18 years old, or aged between 19 and 24 years old and has an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan or has been in the care of their local authority. They can spend it on any costs associated with supporting an apprentice in the workplace. For example, on uniforms, the apprentice’s travel or their salary.

The table below provides a breakdown of total spend on these payments by the department for the 2021/22 academic year to both employers and training providers, and for apprentices aged 16 to 18 years old and those aged 19 and above. The latter will include spend on apprentices who have either an EHC Plan provided by their local authority or who have been in the care of a local authority. The department does not capture whether the apprentice is a care leaver or has an EHC Plan for funding purposes.

*Figures are rounded to the nearest million.

Full data for the 2022/23 academic year is not yet available, providers will submit their final returns in October 2023.

The government has tripled the care leavers bursary for apprentices under the age of 25 from £1,000 to £3,000, supporting more people from all backgrounds to undertake apprenticeships. This is on top of the £1,000 available to both their employer and training provider, making a total of £5,000 additional funding available for every care leaver apprentice.