Built Environment Committee double evidence session on construction skills shortages and rail fares
Monday 6 September 2021
On Tuesday 7 September 2021, the House of Lords Built Environment Committee will be holding two evidence sessions. The first session will be on skills shortages and will inform the committee’s housing demand inquiry, while the second will focus on fares and technology for its fare reforms inquiry.
These evidence sessions will be held remotely and streamed on Parliament TV.
At 9:30am the committee will hear from:
- Charlotte Bonner, National Head of Education for Sustainable Development, Education and Training Foundation
- Mark Enzer, Head of the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s National Twin Programme and Chief Technical Officer, Mott MacDonald
- Stephen Radley, Director of Policy and Strategic Planning, Construction Industry Training Board.
Questions the committee is likely to ask include:
- Do skills shortages act as a barrier to building more homes? In which sectors are skills shortages most acute?
- What has caused the skills shortages in the construction sector and how can these be addressed?
- How might a move to Modern Methods of Construction affect the skills needed to build new homes?
- What sorts of digital skills does the current and future workforce need to build more homes, and how can the digital skills gap be closed?
- What green skills will be required to build new homes in the future and retrofit existing homes?
- What incentives can be used to draw more young people into construction and related green and digital jobs?
At 11am the committee will hear from:
- Ian Chaplin, Senior Adviser at Omio
- Anthony Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Transport Focus
- Shashi Verma, Director of Strategy and Chief Technology Officer at Transport for London.
Questions the committee is likely to ask include:
- What reforms should Great British Rail prioritise in changes to fares and ticketing?
- What do customers want in terms of changes to fares and ticketing?
- How have consumers reacted to the plans for GBR and the introduction of flexi-season tickets? What impact will GBR have on retail competition?
- How can digital ticketing be effectively rolled out across the UK? What are the barriers to implementing contactless technology?
- What are the current challenges facing the financing of the railways? How does the UK stand with respect to the balance of public subsidy versus private investment compared with other countries?
The committee’s work can be followed on its website and via Twitter.
