Summary of changes
Updated 21 October 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
October 2026 – version 3
Purpose
We published version 1 of the 2026 to 2027 apprenticeship unit funding rules on 16 July 2026 and version 2 of the 2026 to 2027 rules on 29 July 2026. We are now publishing version 3 of the 2026 to 2027 rules to correct information regarding a system change.
This summary of changes highlights additional changes that have been made in version 3 as well as continuing to include the changes that were made to versions 1 and 2.
This document sets out amendments to the following document:
- Apprenticeship Unit funding rules: August 2026 to July 2027 (version 2)
This document is intended as a summary of changes and does not replace the funding rules themselves. You should refer to the main funding rules document for the complete rules.
Summary of changes
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 |
| New for 23 September 2026. Clarification: due to system unavailability, for starts from 1 August 2026, the £150 fixed learning support payment will need to be claimed via the earning adjustment statement. | 36.2 | This change supersedes the change in the line above. |
Delivery hours
| Change | Paragraph number(s) | Additional notes / rationale to support the change |
|---|---|---|
| New for 1 August 2026 – version 2 (clarification): we have clarified that delivery hours do not currently need to be captured on the ILR. | 49 to 50 | 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 apprenticeship service (AS) account, the government contribution will be 75% of the funding rate. | 74 | None |
| New for 1 August 2026 – version 2 (policy update): to confirm that for new starts from 1 August 2026 where a levy payer has insufficient funds in their apprenticeship service account and the learner is aged 25 or over (at the start of their apprenticeship unit training), 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 |
| New for 1 August 2026 – version 2 (policy update): to confirm that for new starts from 1 August 2026 where a levy payer has insufficient funds in their AS account, government will fund all the apprenticeship unit training and assessment costs (based on the funding rate) for those learners who are aged between 19 and 24 years old at the start of their apprenticeship unit training. | 93 | None |
| New for 1 August 2026 – version 2 (policy update): to confirm that for new starts from 1 August 2026 where a levy payer has insufficient funds in their AS account and the learner is aged 25 or over (at the start of their apprenticeship unit training), the government will fund 75% of the training and assessment costs (based on the funding rate). | 94 | 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 |
| New for 1 August 2026 – version 2 (policy update): to confirm that for employers who have exhausted the levy funds in their apprenticeship service account, then if at any point the ‘sending’ employer has insufficient funds to cover the cost of the apprenticeship unit, then where the learner was aged 25 or above at the start of their training the government will only fund 75% of the remaining payments. | 121 | 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 |