Apprenticeship levy restrictions leave £200m going to waste

UNISON has warned that over £200 million is lying unused by cash-strapped health trusts in England because of restrictions in the government’s apprenticeship levy scheme.

Based on freedom of information by the union, figures show that 79 per cent of the money hasn’t been used, with funds now starting to be clawed back by the government.

Hospitals are unable to spend the cash because they’re too hard up to take on apprentices and the levy money can only be used for apprentice training, not wages. Under the government’s apprenticeships scheme, any levy money not spent after two years is reallocated to a central pot. According to the UNISON report It Doesn’t Add Up, substantial funding will be lost to the NHS over the next few years if the trend is not addressed.

More than half of the 244 health trusts in England responded to the request. The results showed they had paid out £256 million for the levy, yet only used £54 million (21 per cent) for apprenticeship training and assessments. However, UNISON believes the true figure for unspent NHS cash is likely to be much higher when the trusts that didn’t provide data are taken into account.

The report also claims that 65 per cent of trusts are paying apprentices less than the lowest NHS pay rate of £9.03 per hour. Just under a third of the trusts are paying £3.90 per hour, the statutory minimum apprentice rate.

UNISON says the government should change the rules so levy funding can also be spent on apprentice salaries and the wages of staff employed to cover for apprentices when they are training. Any money not used could then go towards funding a new extensive apprenticeship programme across the entire NHS for nursing and all the other health professions experiencing shortages.

Sara Gorton, UNISON head of health, said: “These figures are a shocking wake-up call showing the extent of the levy’s failure. Hundreds of millions of pounds are sitting idle at a time when budgets are stretched and there are 100,000 vacancies across the NHS. There are real concerns about the standard of training apprentices receive, with many carrying out administrative and clinical support roles for peanuts.

“The NHS must be better equipped for the future. Ministers must reform the system to ensure money allocated to the health service stays within the NHS and invest properly to ensure apprenticeships play a full role in solving the growing staffing crisis.”