The National Association of Shopfitters (NAS) has requested that the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) provides information under the Freedom of Information Act about the value of Levy paid and grants returned across its membership.
The information from the CITB shows that grants paid to members have more than halved over the past 3 financial years:
| 2019/2020 | 2020/2021 | 2021/2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NAS members Levy | £1,692,873 | £1,213,572.67 | £552,884.08 |
| NAS members grants | £472,805 | £289,158.69 | £214,864 |
| Net position | -£1,220,068 | -£924,414 | -£338,020.08 |
| % of grants vs Levy | 28% | 24% | 39% |
While the recent trend of percentage of grants paid versus Levy up to 21/22 implies an improvement (i.e. the increase from 24% to 39%), some caution should be given to these numbers, due to the 2021 emergency Levy Order the CITB issued in response to the pandemic.
The emergency Levy Order resulted in a 50% reduction in Levy rates and an increase in the 50% reduction threshold – meaning the amount collected in Levy would be around half of what it traditionally would be. Had Levy payments been in line with previous years, the percentage of grants paid would be far lower and would likely represent a further decline on previous years.
We also conducted a brief poll on LinkedIn to see how much, on average, our followers thought would be returned in grants for each Pound paid in Levy.
The majority of respondents to the poll (44%) felt that fewer than 10p from £1 is being returned on average.
Our comment
The results of our brief poll and the confirmed information from the CITB do not paint a good picture. The NAS has made a commitment under Priority 4: Business Efficiency to improve the return on Levy paid and knowing the scale of the challenge, as shown by the data, will help us measure the impact of our work. I am very hopeful that the NAS is able to report an improving set of figures in the future.
CITB Levy Return Deadline
The deadline for employers registered with CITB to submit their completed 2022 Levy Return is Thursday 30 June 2022. Failure to submit it by this date will result in grant claims being withheld until it is received, and any employers who do not submit a completed Levy Return by 30 November 2022 will lose eligibility for all grant claims.
