Heritage Craft and Building Sector

Debate between Lord Kennedy of Southwark and Baroness Andrews

Monday 12th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms and Chief Whip (Lord Kennedy of Southwark) (Lab Co-op)]

It is the turn of the Labour Benches.

[Baroness Andrews (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the Chief Whip. I am very interested in what the noble Baroness has said about the range of initiatives, and very glad that she is talking to the rest of the heritage sector. The question that was raised, however, was about the strategic direction and need for systematic and scaled-up investment on a credible and systematic basis in terms of heritage skills. Although we need the skills to bring the historic environment up to scratch and to make the most of it, whether we are repurposing buildings or restoring them, this is not a niche issue. These skills are transferable into the whole of the construction economy, and we desperately need a lot of additional quality in that sector as well. Can the Minister give me some assurance that there is an endgame here where we will see a significant increase in the quality of apprenticeships and other qualification routes, whereby we will build our capacity to do these jobs over the next decade?