To ask the Minister of Health to detail (i) the amount paid by Health and Social Care employers in apprenticeship levies in each of the last five years; and (ii) the amount spent on apprenticeships from this funding source.

My Department does not hold information on the amount paid in apprenticeship levies by Health and Social Care employers.

With regard to the amount spent on apprenticeships from the apprenticeship levy, there is no direct correlation in Northern Ireland between the levy raised from employers and the funding allocation for skills development, unlike in England where funds collected through the levy are available directly to employers to fund the training costs of apprenticeships. Consequently, this funding source is not currently available to Health and Social Care employers for apprenticeships.