Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme: Construction

(asked on 25th May 2021) - View Source

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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent cuts to the construction industry workforce once the furlough scheme ends.


Answered by
Lord Callanan Portrait
Lord Callanan
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
This question was answered on 8th June 2021

The construction sector will be a key part of the UK’s economic recovery from Covid-19. Construction output has significantly increased since May 2020, with record monthly growth in June 2020, and strong growth continuing into 2021, with £23 billion of large construction contracts awarded for a range of infrastructure, housing and commercial projects. We expect this strong growth to continue during the rest of the year, meaning there is likely to be less of a need for Government support.

The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme is designed to be a temporary measure to support businesses facing severely restricted demand. It has provided significant support to the construction sector, with payments made between 1 November 2020 and 31 March 2021 totalling £1,023m, with 83,000 firms using the CJRS, helping to protect over 200,000 jobs.

The Government continues to work closely with the industry to support its recovery, and to ensure that it can retain and develop the skilled workforce it needs. This includes through an accelerated pipeline of projects worth up to £37 billion, the introduction of a Talent Retention Scheme to help workers move into jobs, and work with the Construction Leadership Council and Construction Industry Training Board to ensure effective support to ensure the construction workforce is equipped with the skills that the industry needs.

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