7th Special Report - The apprenticeships ladder of opportunity: quality not quantity: Government Response to the Committee’s Sixth Report

This is the government's response, published 20 December 2018.

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government welcomes the Committee's report and states that it agrees with many recommendations, while disagreeing on some, including treating degree apprenticeships as a strategic priority in isolation.

• On Ofsted monitoring of new providers, it agrees on the importance of such visits but says visits within 12 months are "not manageable", and has agreed additional funding for visits "within 24 months", which it will keep under review.
• On degree apprenticeships, it states: "we disagree that the growth of degree apprenticeships should be treated as a strategic priority in isolation", because the reforms are employer-led.
• On funding bands and levy expiry, it says it "currently has no plans to change the limit" on the top funding band but "will keep funding bands under review"; it considers the extension of levy expiry from 18 to 24 months appropriate.
• On subcontracting, it plans to publish its "final expectations by the end of December 2018", aiming to increase funding reaching front line delivery and transparency over fees.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error