Some parents on benefits will be given up to £4,500 a year to encourage their children to start apprenticeships, the government has said. The payment is expected to benefit an estimated few thousand households, who currently face losing between £17 and £330 a week if their children start apprenticeships. The Conservatives welcomed Prime Minister Andy Burnham's support for apprenticeships, but criticised his plans to fund the bursaries. Because they are classed as paid employment, benefit payments are reduced to households where young people take on apprenticeships. It is part of a wider package of support for apprenticeships, including funding for apprenticeship training for under-25s and additional support for employers taking on apprentices.