To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of apprenticeship starts in the hairdressing sector in Leeds since 2024; and what steps she is taking to support salons to provide apprenticeships.

Apprenticeships are a great way for individuals to begin or progress a successful career in the hairdressing industry.

There have been over 135 starts in hairdressing and barbering apprenticeships within the Leeds local authority across the 2023/24 academic year and the 2024/25 academic year, up until January 2025.

To support smaller employers access apprenticeships, the government pays full training costs for young apprentices aged 16 to 21, and for apprentices aged 22 to 24 who have an education, health and care (EHC) plan, or have been in local authority care. Employers can benefit from £1,000 payments when they take on apprentices aged 16 to 18, or apprentices aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan or have been in local authority care.

Employers also benefit from not being required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance contributions for all apprentices aged up to age 25 where they earn less than £50,270 a year.