Responding to today’s launch of the Apprenticeship Levy, Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and Economy Minister Simon Hamilton highlighted the impact on the Executive’s Finances and on local employers.
Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir said in relation to the Apprenticeship Levy: “Having carefully considered the financial information provided to me by the Treasury I have concluded that the Levy is of no benefit to our budget.
“Next year the Apprenticeship Levy gives the Executive a Barnett Consequential of £76million. However the cessation of funding for existing apprenticeships in England means a Barnett Consequential loss of £52million. There is also a £29million Levy on our public sector. This means there is no overall increase to the Executive’s Budget. ”
Economy Minister Simon Hamilton said: "Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and I have discussed the levy today. It is bad news for Northern Ireland public and private sector organisations with a pay bill of over £3million. I will be launching a short and focused consultation to garner the opinions of those impacted. I am committed to working with our employers to ensure that our apprenticeships and skills programmes can continue to grow their skills base and competitiveness. We currently have an excellent range of apprenticeships and I would encourage all employers to use them to meet their skills needs.”
The table below shows impact of the Apprenticeship Levy on the block (£million).
| £million | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| HM Treasury Announcement | 76 | 79 | 82 |
| SR 2015 Consequential – Other Apprenticeships | -52 | -52 | -52 |
| Impact of Apprenticeship Levy policy changes | 24 | 27 | 30 |
| Estimated Cost to Public Sector | -29 | -29 | -29 |
| Net impact on NI Resource DEL | -5 | -2 | 1 |
Notes to editors:
- Announcement on the Apprenticeship Levy from HM Treasury is available at the GOV UK website.
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