Countess of Mar
Main Page: Countess of Mar (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Department Debates - View all Countess of Mar's debates with the HM Treasury
(10 years, 4 months ago)
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The Countess of Mar (CB)
My Lords, is there a sufficiently skilled workforce in the building trade after the doldrums that it has been in for such a long time? Are there enough people who have all the skills required to build houses? Has the Minister considered the modern prefabricated buildings that I understand can be put up within a week, in order to speed up housebuilding?
Lord Newby
My Lords, there are reports just today about skills shortages and rising wages in the construction sector. With the number of housing starts having increased so rapidly, you would expect that to be the case. Incidentally, when one talks about the free movement of labour within the EU, it is worth remembering that were it not for highly skilled technicians from other parts of the EU, the position regarding employment within the construction sector and shortages would be much worse. As the noble Baroness may know, we are investing an awful lot in apprentices and apprenticeships. In the medium term, that will be crucial in order to get to a new and higher level of building, but it takes quite a time to train someone to be, for example, a highly qualified electrician.