HL Deb 24 March 1986 vol 472 cc1270-1WA
Lord Graham of Edmonton

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What are their views on the special survey by the Federation of Master Builders entitled Manpower in the Building Industry, Shortages, Recruitment and Training; and

Whether they accept the findings of a survey carried out by the Federation of Master Builders that 50 per cent. of labour shortages in the construc-tion industry are due to a lack of training, and whether they will draw this to the attention of the Construction Industry Training Board; and

Whether they have noted that in a recent survey carried out by the Federation of Master Builders 59 per cent. of firms contacted reported a shortage of carpenters and 47 per cent. reported a shortage of bricklayers; and whether they intend to review training facilities for these trades; and

Whether their attention has been drawn to a survey carried out by the Federation of Master Builders which shows that 60 per cent. of firms contacted experiencing a shortage of labour stated that this was affecting their workload.

The Secretary of State for Employment (Lord Young of Graffham)

The Federation of Master Builders has sent copies of this survey to me and to my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. The Government very much welcome this initiative to improve information on the supply of and demand for skills in the construction industry. However, such surveys are necessarily broad brush, and the results, while useful, require careful interpretation. I understand that the Federation of Master Builders has sent the report to the Construction Industry Training Board, which will be considering its implications for training.