A total of 21 apprenticeship standards will have their funding cut, it has been confirmed. The education secretary has approved new funding band recommendations from the Institute for Apprenticeships for 17 standards, having already done so for 12 standards in October. This comes after the IfA reviewed the funding band for 31 of its standards - a final two standards in this wave of the review are still to have their new funding band confirmed.

Of the 29 for which the outcome is known, 21 will now have a lower funding band, while two standards will have their funding increased, and six will see no change.

A spokesman for the IfA said: “Our priority throughout has been to ensure standards have the appropriate funding band to support high-quality delivery and provide value for money for employers and the taxpayer, whilst ensuring consistency in the way older and newer standards are funded.

“Throughout the process, we have worked collaboratively with trailblazers to ensure the review was carried out in an open way and have worked hard to resolve any concerns about changes to funding levels.”

Plans to review 31 standards were announced in May 2018 and earlier this week, the institute said a further 30 would be reviewed at the request of apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton. The institute expects the review to be completed by Summer 2019.