The Apprenticeship Levy came into force on April Fool's Day – the day my eldest son was born. It couldn't have done him much harm, he's just received a PhD in digital interaction and is now Dr Kirkham (#prouddad).

I'm still trying to work out if the levy is an opportunity or a joke. It is estimated it will cost councils in England around £207m per year and, given how tight budgets are, we really need this money to be spent on something that will give us a return on our investment. We can't afford to lose it in the form of yet another tax.