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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of new workers required to replace workers from other EU countries who may leave the construction industry following the UK's withdrawal from the EU; and what measures they are putting in place to ensure that sufficient numbers are recruited and trained.

The Construction Industry Training Board produces estimates of the number of workers required by the construction sector in future years, by region and by occupation. The Government has not produced specific estimates of the potential impacts of withdrawal from the European Union on the construction workforce. However, it has set out a clear policy that would enable EU nationals currently working in the UK to remain.

The Government is committed to working with the construction sector to ensure the construction workforce is equipped with the skills it will need now and in the future. This includes through the commitment made in the Construction Sector Deal to increase the number of apprenticeship starts to 25,000 by 2020. The Government has also invested £24m through the Construction Skills Fund, which will invest in new learning hubs to accelerate the training of the construction workforce.