The Department for Education has denied there is any issue with funding allocations for apprenticeships.
It comes after the Personal Finance Society said two cohorts of financial advice apprenticeships had to be put on hold after problems with the government funding which has been frozen.
But the government has denied there is a freeze and that employers will have to run apprenticeships without funding.
Since April, businesses with payrolls of more than £3m have had to pay an apprenticeship levy.
The issue appears to relate to a pause in the procurement process for the provision of apprenticeships to businesses which do not pay the apprenticeship levy – so-called non-levy provision.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “We are not aware of any issues with funding allocations.
“We have issued a letter to existing providers confirming the extension of their funding allocations until December.
“Contracts are being extended to ensure continuity of apprenticeship delivery while the procurement for non-levy provision is paused.
“There is no funding freeze. No employer is needing ‘to continue the programme without the government funding’ as levy payers will get their extra 10 per cent support from government and non levy payers will get their 90 per cent support.”
Last year the government approved a standard for the financial advice apprenticeship scheme and said there would be funding of £9,000 available.
The standard published by the Skills Funding Agency is designed for apprentices with no previous experience and employers will set their own entry requirements – though level two English and maths will be required.
Since launching the Aspire apprenticeship programme the PFS has received more than 300 registrations of interest from advice firms and 10 apprentices started the programme in March while another 52 will be starting this month unaffected by the funding issue.
Keith Richards, the chief executive of the PFS, said: "While the Government has continued to make apprenticeship funding available, allocations are significantly lower than training providers were anticipating and well below that required to fulfil demand from the sector.”
“This has forced many programmes across different professions and sectors to put their plans on temporary hold until further clarity is provided, which is especially disappointing given the Government’s commitment from the outset to boosting the number of apprenticeships across the UK by double and encouraging professional bodies and training providers to help drive this growth.”
damian.fantato@ft.com
