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Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 809: 9th August 2025 | DHSC's Level 7 Mitigation Funding: What Does It Say About Employer Choice And Levy Flexibility? | FE Soundbite Edition 809
This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here's a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles from sector influencers and thought leaders across FE and Skills this week on FE News.
Gavin’s Reflective Perspective
DHSC Has Agreed Mitigation Funding, For Level 7 Apprenticeships In Five Health Professions
For me, the biggest announcement from this week wasn't from DfE or Skills England ... but from the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC)! The Department of Health & Social Care has agreed funding, over three financial years, to support Level 7 Apprenticeships in 5 health professions. Big announcement.. which wasn't an official announcement and made after hours... so what is that all about then?
£20M Ring Fenced for Level 7 Apprenticeships in the NHS, but not from the Levy
The new ring-fenced ‘Mitigation funding’ initiative from the DHSC (which is c£20M over three years and is funded by the DHSC, not from the Levy or DfE) is to cover five professions for the NHS. Across all five professions, there were 1,574 apprenticeship starts in 2023/24. This is a massive number of learners, that without this 'mitigation' would also be a staffing gap for the NHS!
So basically, the Department of Health and Social Care has had to ring fence and no doubt redivert funding from other areas (like kit, or drugs, or PPE.. or Ambulances)... to support the training and development of 1500'ish Level 7 Apprentices. That is around £20 million in 3 years, seeing as an Ambulance costs about £150,000 to buy, that is 130 Ambulances that could be bought... but instead the DHSC has had to divert this to training and development for Level 7. The Government talks about building an NHS fit for the future... well, fair play to DHSC for investing in Level 7 staff.
As a side note, even though the NHS is the biggest employer in the UK, it will also have a massive Levy pot, but with the Level 7 Apprenticeship policy decision from DfE, the NHS are still paying in the same amount into their Levy pot, but with less options to use it on!
DHSC 'Mitigation Funding' Highlights The Bonkers Level 7 Policy Shift
To me, this is bonkers, now it is widely known that the amount of money that is taken by the Government for the Levy, not all of it is returned to be spent on Apprenticeships. Some is squirrelled away by Treasury (who knows where.. and how much)! The Levy is effectively a tax on employers to be spent on Apprenticeships, but this is a pot of funding to be spent by employers on their training needs (as they have paid into a Levy pot).
Diverting Levy funding away from Level 7 Apprenticeships from January 2026 has seemed like a bonkers move to me. Employers value Level 7, learners value Level 7 / Master's Level Apprenticeship opportunities and qualifications... and I find it staggering that a Labour Government would cap or effectively stop social mobility for so many people.
Especially when literally last week, the Cabinet Office launched a scheme to boost social mobility with a summer student internship programme to encourage working-class young people into the civil service... so Social Mobility is important then? Then why cut Level 7 funding?
The fact that the DHSC has had to ring-fence £20M of their wider budget to train Level 7 Apprentices shows just how valuable Level 7 Apprenticeships are to the NHS and how bonkers this policy change about the Levy not funding Level 7 Apprenticeships from January 2026 is. Level 7's are valued by employers and learners.
We need Clarification on the Levy Mechanics, what is covered, what are the flexies, employers need to plan!
What is also bonkers is that we still don't know what is in the Levy, particularly the mechanics of it... Labour have been in power for over a year and we still don't know the full extent as to what employers can spend their Levy money on... There are going to be additional flexies.
But c'mon, we need to know what this is. DHSC have acted decisively and fair play to everyone involved in brokering this (you know who you are)... but other organisations, who let's face it, aren't the biggest employer in the UK and don't have a dedicated budget, they need to plan and strategise as well. We need to know what are the mechanics of the new Levy. What is covered, what are the flexies so that people can plan. It isn't even called the Apprenticeship Levy anymore, so what does it cover? Clarification would mean no more treading water for the sector.
To me, the Civil Service internship (how many working-class kids can do an internship anyway?) The DHSC funding for Level 7 highlights different priorities from different Government departments, appearing to work in Silos. We surely need a systems thinking approach, working together. After a year, you'd hope this was a bit more aligned to be fair!
Anyway, Gavin moanalogue over.
Another cracking article this week was from Jacqui Molkenthin, who is saying what everyone is thinking and concerned about with Apprenticeship Assessment reform.
So I hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week.
Epic Exclusives Thought Leadership Articles
Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week
Firstly, Tackling The Confusion Of The Apprenticeship Assessment Reforms By Jacqui Molkenthin from JEML Consulting
Secondly, Does AI Assessment Benefit English Language Learners? By Dr Evelina Galaczi, Director of Research for English, at Cambridge University Press & Assessment.
Finally, “Play Isn’t a Distraction, It’s a Way In”. Why We Need Playful Approaches in GCSE Resits By Lindsey Poole, Functional Skills Lead and an academic mentor at the University of Exeter
This week, we also had some other Epic Exclusives!
Will AI Replace Lecturers? By Danny O’Meara, Operations Manager, FE News
Back To Basics: Rediscovering The Historical Purpose Of Education By Neil Wolstenholme, Kloodle Chairman
Colleague Dynamics: The Good, The Bad and the Hidden Impact By Nathan Whitbread, The Neurodivergent Coach
The Future of Work is Creative By Rachael Doyle, Talent and Development Manager, T Levels North Lead at IBM
What’s New in the World of FE?
Announcements
DHSC Has Agreed Mitigation Funding, For Level 7 Apprenticeships In Five Health Professions By The Department of Health & Social Care
Voices
My Computer Tells Me My Teachers Were Right All Along By Bradley Emi, Co-Founder and CTO at Pangram Labs
In The Know
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Will you be joining us on the 30th of October in Manchester for the Green Mindset Micro Collective? This is in partnership with our friends at the Education and Training Foundation. We've announced the chairs, Toby Perkins MP is coming to speak, he's Chair of the Environmental Audit Select Committee, and as some of you can remember, he used to be Shadow Skills Minister. We also have a cool venue. Check it out and join us on the 30th to help shape the Green Mindset for the sector.
We hope you enjoy FE Soundbite this week. Stay curious, keep innovating, and let's shake up the world of FE together, and catch you next week!
By Danny O’Meara, Digital Project Manager, FE News
By Gavin O’Meara, CEO and Founder, FE News and FE Careers
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