Management Information Sheet

Following on from MI sheet 173/16, the DFE has released a school and academy Apprenticeship Levy Document.

This clarifies that:

• The local authority's levy contribution will include the pay bill for those maintained schools where the local authority has residual employer responsibilities i.e. community and voluntary controlled schools.
• The DFE document states that 'We expect the cost of the levy to be passed on to schools in the same way that employer National Insurance and superannuation is.'
• Community/VC schools will have to make provision for the relevant cost of the levy in their individual budgets, in the same way as other payroll costs e.g. National Insurance etc. The impact of the levy cost to these schools remains a subject of debate, revealed in recent press articles.
• The local authority will hold the digital account and these schools will be able to access that account for funding for apprenticeship training.

Where the pay bill is over £3 million:

• Foundation and VA schools employ their own staff so will be responsible for paying the levy.
• Trusts of standalone academies will be responsible for paying the levy where they are the employer responsible for paying Class 1 secondary NICs.
• Multi academy trusts (MATs) generally employ the staff in their academies, and will be responsible for paying the levy.

All of the above employers will have their own digital account and will be responsible for managing this.

Where the pay bill is under £3 million:

• Foundation, VA schools, standalone academies and multi academy trusts with a pay bill of under £3 million, will not have to pay the levy. However, if they want to offer apprenticeships, they will be able to access funding which only requires them to pay 10% of the training costs of each apprenticeship. The government will pay the remaining 90%.
• If these school/academies have under 50 employees the government will pay 100% of the training costs for any apprentices who are aged 16-18.

Public sector duty

From April 2017, it is also expected that the government will set targets for large public sector bodies (including schools and academies) to ensure that 2.3% of their workforce start an apprenticeship annually. Public sector bodies will be asked to report on this annually.

What is the public sector duty for Apprenticeships?

The government have consulted on a proposal that public sector organisations with 250 or more staff in England should have 2.3% of their workforce start an apprenticeship annually.

How does this affect schools and academies?

Schools and academies will be included in this requirement. Community and VC schools will be counted as part of the local authority's target. Foundation, trust, standalone academies and MAT's with over 250 employees will also be covered by the duty. There will be a requirement to report annually on targets.

Next steps

If you are reviewing your learning and development strategy with regards to the levy you may wish to also look at it in terms of it how it will help you to achieve this target.

Further information will be provided once the government publishes its response to the consultation.

Where can I find more information regarding the levy and public sector duty?

In addition to the links already provided in MI sheet 173/16:

• Apprenticeship Levy and Public Sector Duty - Briefing for Schools and Education Stakeholders
• DfE Apprenticeship levy presentation specifically for schools and academies

Schools and academies that buy an HR admin and payroll service from Educator Solutions will receive additional communication from that source.

Schools and academies that buy from other providers will need to contact providers for information.