We have previously reported that only England had published information about the operation of the Apprentice Levy scheduled to be introduced in April 2017. The other three countries in the union were yet to make any announcements.
Scotland has now published a consultation document which can be found here.
The questions in this consultation paper are deliberately framed in a way that allows employers and other interested parties to express their views on options for the use of its share of UK Apprenticeship Levy funding. The Government will consider this as part of the forthcoming Spending review exercise.
Minister for Employability and Training Jamie Hepburn said:
“The introduction of this levy is of fundamental concern for us. The UK Government has introduced this levy without any consultation with Scotland, despite the fact that apprenticeship policy is devolved to the Scottish Parliament.”
In a letter to skills ministers, Mr Hepburn said:
“We are aware of the importance of involving employers in Scotland in shaping our response on how we should use our share of the funding. Devolved Administrations have yet to receive final details of the financial settlement that they will receive from the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy.
“Over recent months the Scottish Government has been engaging with a range of employers and representative bodies across a variety of had published to better understand the impact that the levy will have. It is clear from engagement to date that employers in Scotland are looking for a much broader offer than that being developed in England. I am keen that we work with employers to achieve this.
“That is why we have launched consultation with employers to develop a distinctly Scottish approach, which supports apprenticeships and wider skills development and drives closer engagement with industry in our efforts to enhance productivity and economic growth. We will use our findings from the consultation with employers and other interested parties to inform our Spending Review decisions in the autumn.
“The introduction of the levy will have a significant impact on the skills delivery in the devolved administrations. Given the level of interest and concern from businesses around the levy across the UK, I have proposed to host a meeting in Scotland with the Skills Ministers from across the UK .This is a high priority for all four nations so I would hope we could meet at the earliest opportunity.”
