Full details of severance payments received by ministers are routinely published in the relevant department’s Annual Report and Accounts. Any severance payments associated with the July reshuffle will now be published in the 2026-27 Annual Reports and Accounts.

Full details of severance payments received by ministers are routinely published in the relevant department’s Annual Report and Accounts. Any severance payments associated with the July reshuffle will now be published in the 2026-27 Annual Reports and Accounts.

Paid marketing activity to promote Pension Credit across Great Britain began on 16 September and has included TV and video on demand; radio; national and regional press; paid social media and website adverts; GP and Post Office screens; train panels; digital street displays; podcasts; and a partnership with ITV regional weather. The most recent phase of the activity is aimed at friends and family who can encourage and support older relatives and friends to apply.

Since 5 July, the total spent on the Pension Credit campaign is £3.3m.

This activity is alongside our continuing work with key stakeholders such as voluntary organisations, energy companies, pension providers, the Money and Pensions Service, other UK Government departments, the Devolved Governments, local councils, housing associations, community groups, local libraries, and influencers.

At the Budget, the Government took tough decisions on tax, spending and welfare to repair the public finances and restore Britain’s economic stability. The Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts borrowing to fall every year of the forecast, from 4.5% of GDP in 2024-25 to 2.1% of GDP in 2029-30. The Government has confirmed robust fiscal rules to put the public finances on a sustainable path.

The Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) is the UK’s macroprudential authority. Twice per year, the FPC publishes a Financial Stability Report (FSR) setting out its view on the stability of the UK financial system and what it is doing to remove or reduce any risks to it. The latest FSR, published on 29 November 2024, covers developments since June.

The Cabinet Office is currently engaging stakeholders to help shape how a new, mission-driven approach to public procurement could support delivery of the Government’s missions alongside local priorities. We expect procurement measures to be beneficial to businesses and contracting authorities.

I refer to the answer given to HL1066 on 4 October. I am confident that the short delay to the implementation of the Procurement Act will allow for a more seamless transition, ensuring a smoother and more effective implementation process for both contracting authorities and suppliers. The NPPS is an essential element of the Procurement Act, and it is crucial that the new regime commences with a statutory NPPS aligned to this Government’s priorities.

My Lords, in March the Government ordered the closure of certain sectors to control the virus, save lives and protect the NHS. Alongside this, the Government delivered an unprecedented package of economic support. The Government have set out a phased approach to reopening our economy to minimise the risk of a second peak of the virus. Public Health England, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and NHS Test and Trace constantly monitor

levels of infection across the country and will work with local authorities to implement additional measures if needed.

The apprenticeship levy is collected from all UK employers through the PAYE system by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). HMRC publish information on levy receipts in the monthly Tax and National Insurance contribution receipts publication, and in their annual reports and accounts, available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2017-to-2018.

In 2017-18, the first year following the introduction of the levy, £2.6 billion was collected from UK employers and HM Treasury (HMT) allocated £425m of the levy collected to the devolved administrations. Annual data on levy collected in 2018-19 will be published by HMRC, and data on 2018-19 spending will be available from Department for Education in due course.

Skills spending is a devolved matter and HMT committed in advance to the share of the levy that would be passed to the devolved administrations in the three-year period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. HMT published these plans at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-government-agrees-apprenticeship-levy-funding-deal-with-devolved-administrations.

In England, levy-paying employers can use online apprenticeship service accounts to access their funds. In 2017-18, the total spend on apprentices employed with levy payers, and who started training after the levy was introduced, was £268 million. This figure represents more than the £170 million in training and assessment costs charged to levy payers’ accounts.

This is because these employers also benefit from additional payments to support certain types of learners, and extremely generous co-investment contributions for those employers that have exhausted their levy account funds. Such costs are not currently deducted from levy accounts. In 2018-19, levy-payers drew down a further £639 million representing the costs charged to levy-payers on the learners who started since the levy was introduced (and whose training is ongoing in 2018-19) as well as the costs of learners who started in the 2018-19 financial year.

Employers’ levy funds are distinct from the department’s ring-fenced annual apprenticeship budget, which is set in advance by HM Treasury to fund apprenticeships in England. This budget has risen year-on-year, from £2.01 billion in 2017-18 and £2.23 billion in 2018-19 to over £2.5 billion in 2019-20, double what was spent in 2010.

In 2017-18, we spent £189 million on training and assessment (including additional payments) for apprentices with employers who do not pay the levy and who started their apprenticeship since the levy was introduced. This includes apprenticeships started on both frameworks and new standards.

The ongoing cost of training and assessment for apprentices who started their apprenticeship before the levy was introduced in May 2017 was £1,065 million in 2017-18 (including additional payments as detailed above).

In 2017-18, £40 million (equating to less than 2%) of the £2.01 billion ring-fenced apprenticeships programme budget was spent on the cost of delivering and running the programme. This includes spending by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. The department is provided a separate budget for other administrative spending, and in 2017-18 total administrative spend was £44 million. These two budgets cover the cost of running the online apprenticeship service, employer engagement work, and the promotion of apprenticeships, in addition to staffing and other costs.