Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of skills specifically to help deliver the Government's infrastructure programmes.

Ms Nusrat Ghani, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport: We are on the front foot in ensuring we have the skills needed to deliver transport infrastructure investment. We have a comprehensive skills strategy and are making excellent progress on its delivery. There is strong collaboration across the sector – with roads and rail; freight; maritime and ports and aviation (Heathrow) through the Strategic Transport Apprenticeship Taskforce. 2,000 apprenticeships were created last year and we expect up to 35,000 more in road and rail by 2022, exceeding our initial ambition.

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