PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Apprentices: Taxation (7 October 2020)

The department does not hold information on total levy collected. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is responsible for collecting the levy on behalf of the government. This information is held by HMRC and is published in their annual report and accounts, which can be found at HMRC Annual Report and Accounts. More information is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrcs-annual-report-and-accounts.

In the 2019-20 financial year, £2.5 billion was paid into levy paying employer’s accounts, this includes a 10% top-up and accounts for the English fraction adjustment.

Levy paying employers spent £950 million of funds on apprenticeship training from their apprentice service accounts in the 2019-20 financial year. Payments made out of accounts relate to the apprenticeships learning element only and exclude any other items that are not funded from employers’ funds in their accounts, such as English and Maths training.

Apprenticeship ringfenced budget covers the cost of training that started pre-reforms as well as training of levy and non-levy employers. In the 2019-20 financial year this amounted to £1.9 billion.

Levy employers have 24 months to spend the levy paid into accounts, after which the funds will expire. We continue to work with large employers to improve the transfer process, making it easier for them to find smaller employers to transfer levy funds to, thus helping them maximise the amount of funding they will be able to transfer.