2026-27 Apprenticeship Funding Rules

Update: 19th June 2026

Following the release of version 1 of the funding rules, we have started development on the funding rule changes.

To be included in the 7th July release:

  • New academic year:
    • Adding the new 2026-27 academic year selection in the apprenticeship enrolment
    • Start date validation for the 26-27 academic year (e.g. start date cannot be before 01/08/2026)

Priority changes for July and August:

  • Gateway sign-off of Training Plan – additional questions to be added to the Gateway Review to confirm that the learner, employer, and provider agree the content of the Training Plan has been delivered.
  • EPA enrolment updates:
    • Allowing the EPA duration to be optional when setting the apprenticeship dates, where EPA is no longer required.
    • Allowing providers to enter £0 for the TNP 2 price, in accordance with para 415.2.
  • Agreement Identifier – displaying the employer’s Agreement Identifier in the enrolment and automating the population of the field in the ILR.
  • Subcontractor UKPRN – where a subcontractor UKPRN has been specified for learning aims in enrolment, automate the population of the field in the ILR.
  • Age-restricted standards – for the new L2 Admin and all L7 standards, add enrolment warnings when learners are aged over 24.
  • Wording updates:
    • Replace all references to the Department for Education (DfE) to now show the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
    • Strengthen the wording for the substantial link between the apprenticeship and their job.
    • Additional statement and confirmation checkbox that learners with a visa have the time necessary to complete their apprenticeship & assessment and that their visa documentation has been verified.
    • Include more information on the Funding document to inform the employer of potential co-investment requirements, particularly where their levy funds are reduced.
    • Improved labelling on the answer options for the question ‘How is this apprenticeship going to be funded’, to ensure the correct ACT code is populated in the ILR.
    • More information relating to the Care Leaver Bursary to be added to the Training Plan.

Further enhancements:

  • Skills Scan – we are exploring options for how we can improve our skills scan experience by providing you with the option to conduct skills scans against the standard’s duties instead of the full KSBs.

 

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.