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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to (a) reduce non-essential construction work (b) help ensure social distancing is observed on building sites during the covid-19 outbreak.

Construction workers play a crucial role in supporting our public services, maintaining the nation’s infrastructure, and providing safe, decent homes for people to live in. Therefore, the Government has stated that construction work can continue where it can take place safely.

In order to help ensure that it is safe for construction workers to operate in their workplace, the Government has worked with Public Health England (PHE) to develop sector-specific guidance on social distancing. We have also worked with the Construction Leadership Council to develop Site Operating Procedures, which provide practical advice to those seeking to implement the guidance.

The Health and Safety Executive has the powers to take enforcement action if a site is not consistently implementing the measures set out by PHE.