Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin joins calls for reform of Apprenticeship Levy

M&S CEO Stuart Machin has added his voice to calls from the retail industry for reform of the Apprenticeship Levy, calling it a “tax on opportunity”.

It comes after BRC CEO Helen Dickinson signed a letter to the government slamming the system for making it too difficult for companies to draw on the levy funds they have paid in.

Writing his monthly newsletter, which was published this morning, Machin said the levy was preventing M&S from training more young people, and criticised the tax for not being ringfenced, “meaning the government just takes it and spends it on what it likes”.

“In theory we should be able to claim the money back for each apprentice we take on, but overly restrictive, bureaucratic rules mean it’s really difficult to access the funds,” he said.

“The levy costs us £5.4m per year and we’re currently losing around £365k every single month in unspent funds that could be spent on anything the Treasury fancies. Since April 2021 we have lost almost £8m in total – which is frankly ludicrous. Just think what training we could have provided to colleagues across the UK with it.

“Put simply, the levy is a tax on opportunity and on growth, and is in desperate need of reform.

Machin said M&S would “love to be able to use the levy” to offer more work placements on the retailer’s ‘Marks & Start’ scheme, for young people facing barriers to work, “and to expand the number of apprenticeships we offer to our colleagues”.

“But the levy rules stop us from this,” he said.

“Our ask of government is simple: expand the scope of the Apprenticeship Levy into a broader skills fund, allowing businesses like ours to bring more people into work, build skills and careers, and help level up the UK.”

Machin added that he “wholeheartedly” agreed with Dickinson’s comments on the levy last week.

Dickinson said: “Retailers want to invest more in training a higher-skilled, more productive and better-paid workforce. They want to create more opportunities for people up and down the country. They want to contribute more to growth. But the broken apprenticeship system is a ball and chain around their efforts.”

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy has also complained that thousands of staff are missing out on new training because of restrictions on the Apprenticeship Levy fund