Cash raised by the apprenticeship levy is set to dramatically surpass previous predictions and hit £4 billion by 2024-25, new forecasts from the government’s spending watchdog have revealed.
It means the gap between employer receipts generated from the levy and what is distributed for public spending on apprenticeship training will grow even wider, with one expert labelling the disparity as a “gaping chasm”.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its annual “economic and fiscal outlook” this week after the chancellor delivered his autumn statement. It now predicts that apprenticeship levy receipts will reach £3.9 billion in 2023-24, which is £300 million more than was forecast at this point last year.
Economists in the independent government agency, funded by the Treasury, predict that receipts will then hit £4 billion the following year, which is again £300 million higher than first estimated.
