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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention of building more houses, what is their assessment of the availability of skilled personnel to carry out the building work necessary; and what measures they are taking to train sufficient numbers to ensure the success of the house building programme.

Viscount Younger of Leckie

There has been no specific assessment of the availability of skilled personnel for the home building sector. The Construction Industry Training Board’s (CITB) latest Construction Skills Network Report forecasts an annual recruitment requirement for the construction sector, including home building, of 36,400 a year for the 2013 – 2018 period.

Under the auspices of the Construction Leadership Council, the house building industry is developing an action plan to address two immediate priorities: improving the image of house building and attracting back experienced workers who left during the recession, and other workers with relevant skills. More widely, the Government is making a number of reforms to the skills system to improve skills supply, putting employers in the driving seat and making providers more responsive to their needs.

The Government is also currently undertaking a triennial review of the way the CITB operates and challenging it on the service it delivers to the sector.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of their stated intention of building more houses, what is their assessment of the ability of the United Kingdom building supplies industry to provide bricks, timber and other materials; and what measures they are taking to encourage growth in the building supplies industry to provide sufficient materials to ensure the success of the house building programme.

Viscount Younger of Leckie

The Government has noted advice from the Construction Products Association that there is no general lack of capacity in UK products manufacturers. The Association advises that only 19 per cent of companies producing heavy building materials are currently operating at near capacity. As the products sector adjusts to the return to growth it expects that capacity will increase further in response to demand.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham on 2014-06-11.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the delay by the British Embassy in Doha in issuing new passports to children born to United Kingdom parents in Qatar; and whether they have held discussions with the local authorities over the law in Qatar under which fines may be imposed on foreign nationals who are not in possession of a passport by the age of two months.

Baroness Warsi

The British Embassy in Doha no longer issues passports. We have raised with the Qatari authorities the issue of fines imposed on British nationals without a passport, and are working to find an agreed solution. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is working closely with Her Majesty’s Passport Office to overcome any problems that result from a delay in the issuing of British passports. In line with the recent statement on 12 June by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right Hon Friend the Member for Maidenhead, South East (Theresa May), any British nationals facing a problem should consult the Embassy to discuss this – including the alternatives for urgent travel to the UK without a full passport.