The government's aim is to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020. The purpose of the consultation was to seek views on which public bodies in England should be set targets on the number of apprentices working for them.
It was proposed that public sector employers that have more than 250 employees in England should meet a target of at least 2.3% apprenticeship starts each year. The consultation asked whether headcount was the correct basis for the target and proposed a reporting period as the financial year.
The government has decided:
The government will now draft regulations which are set to come into force in March 2017 and which will indicate which employers are in scope. The government has said it will set out exact timings in the guidance for employers but it looks likely that the first report will be due in September 2018, which will cover the previous financial year.