The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answers on 4th September 2023:
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that all apprenticeships receive the mandated off-the-job training entitlement.
Baroness Barran (Con, Department for Education): The government has made significant reforms to the quality of apprenticeships to ensure they meet the needs of employers and bring wider benefits to the country and the economy. Apprenticeships have a minimum 12-month duration with more training (minimum 20% off-the-job) and are more rigorous and credible with employer led standards and independent end-point assessments.
Off-the-job training is an essential component and a legal requirement of an apprenticeship, supporting apprentices to develop the skills and behaviours set out in the apprenticeship standard so they can achieve occupational competence
When employers recruit an apprentice, they enter a legally binding contract that requires compliance with the apprenticeship funding rules. These rules must be followed by both employers and apprenticeship training providers to receive funding for the training and assessment of apprentices in England. It is mandatory for all apprentices, regardless of their programme, to complete a minimum of 20% off-the-job training.
To ensure that apprentices receive the required off-the-job training, providers must report both the planned and actual off-the-job training hours for every apprenticeship and the department conducts regular reviews of training provider activity through funding reports and quality assessment audits, taking necessary action to address providers found not to be following these rules.
The department also support providers by promoting a better understanding of the apprenticeship funding rules through online webinars, publishing myth busters and detailed guidance on off the job training, plus supporting evidence templates.
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many people signed up for apprenticeships in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, and (4) 2022.
Baroness Barran: The number of apprenticeship starts from the 2018/19 to 2021/22 academic years are available in the attached table [on Hansard].
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what estimate they have made of the percentage of school leavers who take up apprenticeships at age 16; and how many drop out at a later stage.
Baroness Barran: Available data on destinations of state-funded mainstream school leavers (after reaching the end of key stage 4, typically aged 16) shows that 2.4% of the cohort took up apprenticeships that were sustained for at least 6 consecutive months in the following academic year (2019/20 leavers’ active during 2020 to 2021 academic year). This was down from 3.7% in the previous year. The 2020 to 2021 academic year was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available in the attached table.
Apprenticeship starts by age group for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 academic years are shown in the table below. To note, some young people may not immediately enter into an apprenticeship after leaving key stage 4 study. The total number of 16 to 18 year olds starting an apprenticeship in the 2021/22 academic year was 77,520.
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |
| All age starts | 321,440 | 349,190 |
| 16-18 | 65,150 | 77,520 |
| 19-24 | 94,610 | 106,330 |
| 25+ | 161,690 | 165,340 |
Apprenticeship retention and achievement rates by age group in 2020/21 and 2021/22 are shown in the table below. A number of factors may cause a learner not to complete or achieve their course, which could include learner dropout, change of employer or failure to pass end-point-assessment. For apprentices aged 16-18, the retention rate in 2021/22 was 54.8% and the achievement rate was 53.4%.
| Achievement Rate | Retention Rate | Leavers | ||||
| 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | |
| All age | 57.7% | 53.4% | 58.8% | 54.8% | 275,380 | 263,550 |
| 16-18 | 59.5% | 55.2% | 60.7% | 56.8% | 66,950 | 58,560 |
| 19-23 | 63.1% | 59.4% | 64.4% | 60.9% | 72,800 | 70,070 |
| 24+ | 53.8% | 49.6% | 54.8% | 50.7% | 135,630 | 134,920 |
To note:
- Volumes in tables are rounded to the nearest 10 and percentages rounded to 1 decimal place.
- Achievement and retention rates are based on the Hybrid End Year, not academic year. The Hybrid End Year is the later of the Achievement Year, Expected End Year, Actual End Year or Reporting Year of a programme.
- Apprenticeship retention reflects the number of apprentices that reach the end of their apprenticeship but have yet to undergo end point assessment. Apprenticeship achievements reflect the number of apprenticeships that pass end point assessment. In both cases, the rates are given as a proportion of the cohort that leave or expect to leave their apprenticeship in the relevant year (the Hybrid End Year).
The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure that those on apprenticeships are being paid what they are legally entitled to.
Baroness Swinburne (Con, Treasury): The Government is determined that everyone who is entitled to the NMW receives it.
HMRC enforces the National Minimum and Living Wage (NMW) in line with the law and policy set out by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT)
All businesses, irrespective of size or business sector are responsible for paying the correct minimum wage to their staff. HMRC won’t hesitate to take action to ensure that workers receive what they are legally entitled to.
We take seriously and review all complaints from workers including apprentices referred by the ACAS Helpline or received via the online complaints form. If anyone thinks they are not receiving at least the minimum wage, they can contact ACAS, in confidence, on 0300 123 1100 or submit a query online at gov.uk (see footnote[1]).
In addition to the enforcement of NMW legislation HMRC deliver a programme of upstream ‘Promote’ work designed to encourage employer compliance which includes apprentices. This involves a range of activities to increase both employers’ and workers’ understanding of NMW rules.
[1] www.Gov.UK(opens in a new tab) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pay-and-work-rights-complaints(opens in a new tab)
The Church of England in Parliament 
You must be logged in to post a comment.