Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to expand the availability of evening school classes for (a) plumbing, (b) bricklaying, (c) electrical work and (d) other building trades in Nottinghamshire.

Skills are crucial to this government’s mission to grow the economy under our Plan for Change and deliver our commitment to build 1.5 million homes across this Parliament.

On 23 March, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced measures to address skills shortages in the construction sector. This package commits over £600 million over the Parliament to deliver up to 60,000 skilled construction workers. This includes additional funding to deliver more construction courses, skills bootcamps, foundation apprenticeships, to support industry placements and to deliver 10 new Technical Excellence Colleges. The department will continue to work with post-16 skills providers on their plans to meet local, regional and national skills priorities in construction.

Furthermore, as part of the government’s devolution agenda, from August 2025 the East Midlands Combined Authority will be responsible for administering and delivering their Adult Skills Fund (ASF), allowing them to make best use of the ASF to meet their local needs, including in construction.