Explained: What is the apprenticeship levy and why is it controversial?

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The Treasury use some of this unpent levy to help smaller businesses train their apprentices while the rest goes to a general pot to fund other government expenditure. Most levy payers do not spend all their levy on training, but rather than return it to the Treasury as a tax, many began to use it to fund their top executives doing expensive degrees and postgraduate courses, including MBAs. The government tried to stamp this out two years ago by saying that MBAs can no longer be funded by the levy as it was “not in the spirit” of the scheme.