20 February 2017 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
The Skills Funding Agency ('SFA') has launched the Digital Apprenticeship Services ('DAS'), so you can now register your university (and subsidiary companies - don't forget that if the university has to pay it, your connected companies will have to pay the levy too as it basically applies to the entire corporate group - details in this general levy guidance from HMRC, last updated on 1 February). The SFA has also launched this handy 2-minute video to help explain how the DAS works. The DAS will enable you to see the balance in your digital account (from the end of May), add or amend information about apprentices and training, authorise payment to the training provider, view payment activity in your account, view your balance and pause or stop a payment to your training provider.
For those in the devolved regions - Grant Thornton has confirmed to us that if you are a non-English employer but you have employees in England, you can register for the DAS and there is scope to draw down some of your levy funds based on those employees residing in England. (Although the registered training providers will only be based in England). This may work well if you have, for example, a London campus.
