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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to encourage more digitalisation in the construction sector.

The Government and construction industry have agreed an ambitious Sector Deal which aims to transform the productivity of the sector. The deal contains a commitment to increase the use of digital technologies, including Building Information Modelling, sensors, data analytics and smart systems technologies and the Information Management Landscape. These will enable the design of better-performing and safer buildings and manage the onsite construction process to improve efficiency and minimise waste.

The Government will invest £170m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund to support the development and commercialisation of digital and manufacturing technologies for the construction sector, creating new skills and jobs and international export opportunities for firms in the sector. This represents the single biggest investment from government for at least a decade and will accelerate change, transform the business model of the construction sector and make it more sustainable and profitable.