Initial assessment Individuals who are not eligible to be funded Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Clarification: we have clarified that learners undertaking a skills bootcamp funded by government are not eligible for apprenticeship funding. 24.5 None Clarification: we have clarified that learners on the Erasmus+ programme from 2027 are not eligible for apprenticeship funding. 24.7 None Learners who need access to learning support Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Clarification: to confirm that for starts from 1 August 2026, the £150 fixed learning support payment is to be claimed via the ILR. 36.2 None Paying for an apprenticeship unit Funds in an employer’s apprenticeship service account Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Policy update: for new starts from 1 August 2026 where a levy payer has insufficient funds in their AS account, the government contribution will be 75% of the funding rate. 74 None Use of an employer’s apprenticeship service account Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Clarification: clarified that employers must remove PAYE schemes from their apprenticeship service account that are no longer operational, as well as PAYE schemes that are no longer operated by the employer associated with the account. 78.1 None Clarification: clarified that we will reconcile the payments due to the provider when the data is approved (provided it is approved by the R14 collection relating to the funding year that the payment is due). 81.1 None Employer co-investment Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Policy update: for new starts from 1 August 2026 where a levy payer has insufficient funds in their AS account, the government contribution will be 75% of the funding rate. 93 None Apprenticeship units funded by transfers of levy funds Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Policy update: we have removed reference to the 10% government top up payment which will no longer be added to new funds entering levy accounts from 1 August 2026. 106.1 None Glossary Change Paragraph number(s) Additional notes/rationale to support the change Note added/amended definitions of the following terms: irrefutable, IR35, levy, Skills England and funding year None None

Department
for Work &
Pensions

Guidance

Summary of changes

Updated 16 July 2026

Applies to England

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apprenticeship-unit-funding-rules-2026-to-2027/summary-of-changes--2

Purpose

This document provides a summary of the changes made in the 2026 to 2027 apprenticeship unit funding rules since the publication of the rules for April 2026 to July 2026. It is intended to help providers, employer-providers and employers identify the key policy, operational and technical changes that have been made to the funding rules.

The apprenticeship unit funding rules was published in April 2026. This document summarises the changes introduced in version 1 for 2026 to 2027 and should be read alongside the full apprenticeship unit funding rules for 2026 to 2027.

This summary is not a substitute for the apprenticeship unit funding rules.

Providers and employers must ensure they familiarise themselves with, and comply with, the full apprenticeship unit funding rules. Where there is any discrepancy between this summary and the funding rules, the funding rules take precedence.