In this webinar, industry expert Rupert Crossland and Bud's Senior Product Owner Matt Wood discuss the changes to the 2026/27 Apprenticeship funding rules, providing key insights into how providers can prepare for the new academic year and audits.
Here is the full recording of the webinar:
Questions & Answers
An overview of the questions asked during the webinar:
English and maths questions:
Question: Is a 19+ learner who has withdrawn from Functional Skills English and/or maths, but remains on the apprenticeship, required to attempt the assessment?
Answer: No, they are not required to attempt the assessment.
Question: Where it says apprentices who opt in to English and or/maths, and later withdraw must be withdrawn to their last day in learning, does this not contradict the rule that apprentices must take all assessments at Level 2 but are not required to pass?
Answer: No, because it depends on the decision of the employer as to whether they should study English and maths or if they are 16-18 they must. If they are 16-18 or if the decision is that they are to study English/maths and not opt out, they would then have to take the assessments. If the decision is that they will opt out, then the scenario of taking the tests does not apply.
Question: Can I just confirm that the withdrawal from Maths and English is only for August 2026 rules and not the current rules?
Answer: This is an addition to the 2026-27 funding rules.
Question: Thinking about the English and Maths delivery, if we have a scheme of work in place and have put resources together with recorded webinars, activities etc and we are reviewing their progress against this on a regular basis, is this enough or are the rules saying we need to deliver teaching sessions live?
Answer: The DfE definition of self directed distance learning is “When an apprentice is working alone with online material. The material is not delivered in real time and there is no interactive support.”
Question: If the employer does not agree to the opt in does that mean it cannot be funded via the apprenticeship and has to be funded via adult funding?
Answer: It has to be agreed by the employer for it to be funded as part of the apprenticeship. The provider must include this in the training plan. If the employer does not agree to it, the apprentice may find an ASF funding provider to deliver it.
Question: Does the employer still dictate whether the apprentice needs to do FS or not, if the apprentice is over 19? I thought that the apprentice can opt out themselves?
Answer: It has to be agreed by the employer for it to be funded as part of the apprenticeship.
Question: If an apprentice 19+ opts out of functional skills at level 2 is that still okay or do they have to now attempt the level 2?
Answer: The employer decides whether the apprentice opts out.
Question: If a learner achieves level 2 at initial assessment, can they do functional skills or does this mean there is nothing to teach?
Answer: Potentially it does mean they could sit level 2 without teaching any content. You would have to examine the assessment and diagnostic results and consult the assessment tool guidance to confirm this.
Question: Learners 19+ that opt in to complete maths/English can withdraw later without the need to attempt/sit the exams/assessments?
Answer: Yes, but subject to the agreement of the employer.
Question: Can a tutor's feedback be used as evidence of learning against FS ?
Answer: Only if there is clear evidence of delivery of new learning in the feedback.
Apprenticeship Agreement questions:
Question: Does this mean we must update the AA where learners go passed their planned end date?
Answer: The apprenticeship agreement must be extended and signed by the apprentice and employer if the programme is extended past the original planned end date.
Question: If a learner has had such a long BIL that they need to additional time on top of the automatically adjusted time upon their return, i.e a learner does 3 months then goes on maternity for a year, how are we best acknowledging going so far over end?
Answer: Record this on the learner file.
Training plan questions:
Question: We don't actually need a signature on the gateway process though do we?
Answer: At the end of the programme, the employer, provider and learner must agree that the content of the training plan has been delivered. This can either be recorded in the training plan or in the gateway review process. So you do have to capture their agreement.
Question: Does the signature rule apply to change of circumstances forms?
Answer: Signatures must be irrefutable for all documents included in the evidence pack. Bud does not have specific change of circumstance documents.
Break in learning questions:
Question: Does the 4 weeks start from end of employment or end of the last day of learning?
Answer: It’s 4 weeks from the end of employment.
Non-levy incentive questions:
Question: Will the new incentive for non levy be paid into the provider account to forward on or will it be paid direct to the employer like the one during Covid?
Answer: You can find more details here: Apprenticeship Hiring Payment for Non-levy Employers. – Apprenticeship Service Support.
Question: For non-levy incentive payments, where will the department get the employment start date from? Is this something that should be recorded in the ILR or is it PAYE data?
They will reconcile the ILR data against PAYE data.
Answer: Isn't it 3 months for the funding reservations ? Not one calendar month
Please find more details here: Apprenticeship Hiring Payment for Non-levy Employers. – Apprenticeship Service Support.
Apprenticeship service account questions:
Question: The biggest burden for us is employers approving funds on the App service account. Do you have any tips for this?
Answer: DfE would have to advise you. You could try referring the employer to DfE videos on YouTube on the DfE channel.
The price of the apprenticeship questions:
Question: The comment amount confirming the price - will this be clear on the Bud documents the employer signs at onboarding?
Answer: We will review the wording on the Funding document to ensure that it is robust according to the rules.
Qualifying dates for funding questions:
Question: Which PDSAT report in particular can we use for the qualifying period?
Answer: PDSAT 505. This report is also available via Bud’s ILR Compliance Reports. For more information on that functionality, please see this article.
Redundancy questions:
Question: How will apprentices digest becoming self employed? What is out there to help providers help our apprentices? Any idea?
Answer: You could signpost learners to information such as this: Self-employment: detailed information - GOV.UK
Question: If the assessments need to be completed in the setting as competency based and the learner is made redundant, they wouldn't be able to complete the assessments, how would that fit in with the rule?
Answer: They do still need to be able to be assessed to remain on programme.
Assessment questions:
Question: I have a question regarding the changes of EPA price, e.g it was £1000 at the start of the programme but EPA/TNP2 is now at £1400 at the time of EPA, what is expectation of providers regarding audit?
Answer: Presently the change in TNP2 price would need to be agreed with the employer. From 1 August 2026 only a change in total price (TNP1 + TNP2) would require employer agreement.
Co-investment questions:
Question: If a learner started an apprenticeship in e.g. 2023, withdrew in 2024, and then restarted Aug 2026 - would this learner's co-investment be based on their original start in 2023 or the new one in Aug 2026?
Answer: It would depend on the price of the apprenticeship.