Hitchin and Harpenden MP Bim Afolami has responded to questions regarding his earnings, after it emerged he has been working as a part-time director at an apprenticeships provider since November.

The Register of Members' Financial Interests, which was last updated on January 18 via parliament.uk, discloses all declared by sitting MPs.

From November 27 last year, Mr Afolami has served as non-executive director at Apprentify Ltd, an organisation based in Cheshire that describes itself as "specialists in digital marketing apprenticeships."

For this position, Mr Afolami noted he will receive £2,500 for an expected commitment of eight and ten hours per month.

Mr Afolami has been vocal about his support for the apprenticeships on offer in the UK before, including a recent Zoom discussion with pupils and Gillian Keegan MP at North Herts College.

Since February 2018, Mr Afolami has declared additional earnings of more than £40,000 to the register - including advisory roles for a merchant banking firm, a specialist law search firm and a non-profit organisation.

This total includes an expected £1,000 payment for writing an article for the Mail on Sunday in October, to which he attributed as three hours work.

This comes on top of his annual basic salary as an MP, which was £81,932 as of April according to the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.

READ MORE: Bim Afolami MP ignores questions over new part-time consultancy role

This newspaper approached Mr Afolami to enquire about his part-time roles and how he balances his responsibilities as an MP with his other endeavours.

In a statement, Mr Afolami replied: "My directorship of a company helping to provide apprenticeships (Apprentify) requires roughly two hours per week of my spare time, and my other interests are charitable and unpaid.

"My interests both outside and within parliament overwhelmingly focus on the interests of young people – through apprenticeships, universities, or mental health. All of which are declared to parliamentary authorities."

Mr Afolami has also undertaken unpaid positions, including being a member of the Ditchley Foundation's Programme Committee, member of the Court of the University of Bedfordshire, member of the Financial Inclusion Commission, and as a trustee of the Mitsubishi UFJ Trust Oxford Foundation.

The full register for MPs can be accessed here.