The training body is raising its Small Business Levy Exemption threshold for employers with wage bills of less than £80,000 to £120,000.

Firms who don’t have to pay the levy in 2021/22 can continue to claim CITB grants and support for their training and skills development.

The move is contained in the training body’s latest levy proposals submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) for consideration.

Consultation showed that 85% of employers supported an option to increase the levy exemption threshold.

Currently 35,000 employers are already exempt from paying levy under the existing system, with the proposed threshold increase taking this up to 40,000.

CITB also confirmed its proposals to halve levy rates across construction in 2021-22 with the proposed rates for PAYE @ 0.175% and Net CIS @ 0.625%.

Steve Radley, CITB Policy Director, said: “Taking 5,000 of the smaller employers out of levy payment is another measure to help deliver on our priority to help employers stabilise and then return to growth.

“We are pleased to confirm that we have submitted proposals to halve levy rates for next year. Later this month we will publish our Strategic Plan that will set out how we plan to invest the levy to support the recovery.”