levy | FE Week

Investigation: Agency accused over ‘tax avoidance’ levy advice

An apprenticeship and graduate recruitment agency for schools has been accused of exploiting a tax incentive scheme after it emerged it has been advising schools how to become “better off’ by manipulating apprenticeship levy rules. Qualified Schools proudly states on its website that schools can make “significant in-year budget savings” if they choose to enrol […]

£1.6 billion bids for ‘markedly oversubscribed’ non-levy procurement

The total value of bids lodged through the now-paused procurement for apprenticeship provision allocations for non-levy-paying employers was around £1.6 billion, almost four times more than the sum available, FE Week has learned. The Education and Skills Funding Agency announced on April 12, that the decision over funding allocations relating to this procurement had been be paused, […]

How will the NHS spend its apprenticeship levy?

The NHS will build strong partnerships with colleges and training providers, as long as they are honest about their capacity, says Lucy Hunte. With the imminent introduction of a public sector target which will require all public sector organisations to have 2.3 per cent of their workforce on apprenticeships, the NHS will have an estimated […]

Digital Apprenticeship Service will go live in February

The new Digital Apprenticeship Service is ploughing ahead, and all levy-paying employers will be able to register next month. Having been given a thorough “private beta assessment” by the Government Digital Service, the online service, which lets levy-payers access their accounts and make payments online, has been cleared for use, the Department for Education has […]

Half the levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but who are they?

Around half of the upcoming apprenticeship levy will be paid by just 400 employers – but the Skills Funding Agency won’t say who those companies are. The revelation came during a breakout session on funding at the Association of Colleges annual conference earlier this month. Keith Smith (pictured), the director of funding and programmes at […]

Autumn statement: £200m levy pot reduction forecast by Treasury

Fresh concerns have been raised about apprenticeship funding in England, after predictions on what the levy would raise were revised down by £200 million. In the Phillip Hammond’s autumn statement on Wednesday, government forecasts suggested that the levy would raise a projected £2.8 billion in 2019/20. However the Treasury had predicted in last year’s statement […]

How does the directory of apprenticeship training providers work?

Last month, the government launched its directory of apprenticeship training providers, part of the raft of reforms coming in time for the introduction of the levy in May. Despite being lumbered with a seriously unsexy name, ‘Find Apprenticeship Training’ has been bigged up as the one-stop shop for any employer, large or small, which finds […]