The Apprenticeship Levy was initiated by the UK government in April 2017, for all employers paying a wage bill of more than £3 million per year. Employers that meet this criterion are now required to pay 0.5% of their payroll each month as a levy tax. This levy can then be reinvested back into their workforce in the form of Apprenticeship training.
Our maintained schools will also see charges on some of their accounts. Any budget code that has a salary element or components that relate to payments that National Insurance is based upon, will see an apportionment charge for the TAX Plymouth City Council pay for the Apprenticeship Levy. This will be regardless of whether a team chose to utilise the Apprentice Levy training account or not, as it is an “employment” tax that PCC has no control over.
Employers have 24 months to use their funds once they enter their apprenticeship service account, after this point, their funds will expire. The funds expire to encourage levy paying employers to invest in high-quality training and assessment.
What can this money be used for
The levy can be used to fund any qualification that is listed as an apprenticeship.
The levy does not cover things such as: travel and accommodation if an apprentice needs to travel for training delivery, professional membership subscriptions or in many cases, exam resits. These costs will fall to the department with the potential use of a learning agreement, or the apprentice as an individual.
For any more specific questions about the apprenticeships levy, get in touch with the apprenticeships inbox on apprenticeships@plymouth.gov.uk