Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)

My Lords, I join the noble Lord, Lord Jones, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, in thanking the Minister for introducing this order and setting out its purpose so clearly. I confirm at the outset that the Opposition support it. As the Minister outlined, the order enables the Construction Industry Training Board to continue raising the levy for a further year in order to support training across the construction sector. As the noble Lord, Lord Jones, reminded us, the levy system has a long history, originating in the Industrial Training Acts of 1964 and 1982. The system exists to address a well-recognised challenge within the sector—namely, without co-ordinated action, investment in training and skills can fall far short of what is required. This is particularly important at a time when the construction industry faces significant workforce pressures. The sector employs around 2.6 million people, yet, as the Minister explained, thousands of additional workers will be required each year to meet future demand. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, identified one or two key questions. I join her in expressing concern about the mental health aspect that she outlined; it raises deep concern and needs to be addressed. In addition, if we are to have a strong and sustainable skills pipeline, the noble Baroness was right to draw attention to paragraph 87 of the draft impact assessment and the need for a pipeline that will be diverse and wide-ranging to ensure that we deliver wider economic and infrastructure priorities. The work supported by the levy clearly plays an important role in that effort. Grants for apprenticeships, qualifications and short course training, as well as initiatives such as the travel to train grant and the new entrant support scheme, provide valuable support to employers and learners right across the industry. It is also encouraging to see that a large proportion of the support reaches the vital small and micro-businesses that form such a significant part of the construction sector. While we support the continuation of the levy, I would be grateful if the Minister could clarify a few points, as well as answering the specific questions that the noble Lord, Lord Jones, and the noble Baroness, Lady Bennett of Manor Castle, have asked. First, given the scale of the projected workforce shortfall in construction, how confident are the Government that the current level of the levy will be sufficient to meet the sector’s future skills needs? Are there ongoing discussions with the Construction Industry Training Board about how the levy and its associated programmes might evolve to respond to these pressures? Secondly, one of the long-standing challenges in construction is the industry’s aging workforce and the difficulty of attracting new entrants. Can the Minister say a little more about how the Government see the levy supporting efforts to bring more young people into construction careers? The noble Lord, Lord Jones, reminded me that he and I used to face each other across the Dispatch Box in the House of Commons, when I was the Minister and he was the shadow—a reverse of what had happened a little earlier when he was the Minister and I was the shadow. We have a combined wish to see an increase in apprenticeships. The noble Lord, Lord Jordan, came up with the concept of a new form of apprenticeship and I was happy to play a part, with my noble friend Lord Clarke of Nottingham, in launching the modern apprenticeships. It would be helpful to know from the Minister exactly what is happening with the need to increase those modern apprenticeships and their availability. Finally, given the high proportion of small and micro-businesses in the sector, will the Minister tell us what steps are being taken to ensure that these firms are able to access the support available through the levy as easily as possible? With those brief questions, I reiterate that we support the order and the continuation of the levy. Ensuring that the construction sector has access to the skilled workforce it needs will be essential in the years ahead. The mechanisms such as this levy have an important part to play in that effort, so I am happy to support the Motion.