London housing crisis 'to worsen after Brexit'

London's housing crisis could be set to worsen, Labour warned
Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
Kate Proctor4 April 2017
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London's housing crisis is set to worsen unless more young Britons train to become builders ahead of Brexit, Labour warned today.

The number of construction apprentices has declined by 25 per cent in four years and almost half of all builders in London come from outside the UK.

Shadow housing minister John Healey said the figures are a “wake-up call” for ministers and bosses to encourage more young people into the industry.

He said: “Not enough has been done to train up young Brits to work in the building trade and the risk now is that Brexit will leave us without the skilled workforce to build the homes that the capital needs.”

New figures from the Mayor’s Housing in London report show that of the 348,000 construction workers in the capital, 55 per cent are from the UK, 27 per cent are from the EU and 18 per cent are from elsewhere.

Former prime minister David Cameron promised three million apprentices nationwide by 2020 but government figures show the number people taking up construction training in London has dropped from 730 apprentices in 2011/12 to 560 in 2014/15.

Mr Healey said: “To help tackle London’s housing crisis we need action from ministers now, starting with an urgent assessment of the Brexit risks to the industry and a fresh focus on funding the training of young Londoners.”

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