Update: 19th June 2026
Following the release of version 1 of the funding rules, we have started development on the funding rule changes.
The 2026/27 academic year option will be added to the enrolment workflow in the release on 7th July.
Update: 1st May 2026
Following the publication of the draft rules in April, we have concluded our internal review and held our first Compliance Forum with our customer representatives. Based on these two steps, we have identified the below priorities for Bud development:
Top priorities:
- Training Plan sign-off on completion.
- Skills Scan – ideal solution is a programme-level configuration with a choice between a KSB-driven Skills Scan or a Skills Scan mapped to the activities in the Training Plan. We will assess the feasibility of this.
- Total price on documents – still needs to capture TNP1 and TNP2 separately in the ILR, but could combine those into one total price for the employer on the Funding document. We are seeking more clarity on the wording in the rules.
- English & Maths – discussed the need for better start & end date management for E&M aims, including ILR automation and better visibility on the Training Plan. This will be part of the Aim Management workflow currently in-progress on the roadmap.
- Co-investment – stronger wording in the enrolment pages & Funding document to make it clear to employers what their co-investment contribution could be.
Secondary priorities:
- Care Leaver Bursary – add more information to the Training Plan.
- Age-restricted standards – for the new L2 Admin and L7s, add enrolment validation and warnings for learners if they’re over 24.
- Visas – more robust information/statement that visa documents have been seen/verified and that they have time to complete the entire apprenticeship + assessment.
- New employer incentive in October – ensure this is included like the other incentives.
These priorities are subject to change, especially once version 1 of the rules has been published.
First Published: 31st March 2026
Introduction
As of 31st March, we are still awaiting the publication of the draft 26-27 Apprenticeship funding rules. We recommend reviewing this article once the draft rules have been published as we'll use it to provide updates.
Once the rules are released, we will follow this process:
- Internal review - our in-house, industry experts will complete a full analysis of the rules, what they mean, and how they will impact the Bud platform.
- Customer validation - like previous years, we will use our Compliance Forum to discuss the rules with key customer stakeholders to ensure that we have alignment on the key changes for Bud, including priortising the changes more impactful to you.
- Plan & timeframes - we will update this article with more detailed information on the changes we will implement in Bud, including timeframes for release.
- Webinar - we intend to host our regular funding rules webinar in the last couple of months of the academic year. Further information will be shared nearer the time.