Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to promote (a) gender and (b) racial diversity in the construction industry.

The Government is committed to supporting the construction sector to increase the gender and ethnic diversity of its workforce, to ensure there are opportunities for all who wish to pursue construction careers, regardless of their background. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has developed a ‘Be Fair’ framework, which includes freely available fairness and inclusion training modules for construction firms.

In addition, CITB’s careers hub, ‘Go Construct’, provides online guidance and case studies for prospective employees - and employers - on a range of diversity topics, including gender and race. We are engaged in discussions with the sector as to how further improvements in its diversity can best be achieved.