The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has been reassured by Government Ministers that they will continue to back the organisation.

A letter, co-signed by Skills Minister Anne Milton, Housing Minister Alok Sharma, and Industrial Strategy Minister Lord Prior, was written to CITB Chair, James Wates CBE, telling him they support the organisation.

However, the Ministers added the CITB must continue its programme of reform.

The letter outlines support for the CITB continuing to have Levy-raising powers and why employers should back the new Levy proposal in the ongoing Consensus vote.

It said: "Having reviewed the options for making sure that the construction industry has the skills it needs, we have concluded that the CITB should be retained.

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"As Mark Farmer set out starkly in his report last year, the construction industry faces some very significant challenges over the coming years, including improving productivity, increasing house-building, and making sure it develops the workforce with the skills it will need in the coming decades.

"We support his conclusion that the CITB has an important role to play in supporting the industry to meet those challenges.

"We also have to acknowledge…concern across the industry about the effectiveness, efficiency and responsiveness of the CITB.

"CITB [is] now embarking on a major reform programme to reduce the size of the organisation and make it more focused on those aspects of the skills agenda where there is clear market failure, or where a collective approach to training can deliver real benefits to employers, including small businesses.

"We support the direction of these reforms, and we encourage you to continue to develop and refine them in discussion with the industry and Government."

In response, CITB Chairman James Wates CBE wrote: "I appreciate your confirmation that the CITB should be retained, provided industry supports it in the Consensus process this summer.

"CITB has made great efforts in recent months to agree with industry the steps it needs to take to improve its effectiveness, efficiency, and responsiveness, and the CITB has started to implement these changes.

"Rest assured that CITB has listened – and will continue to listen – to concerns of industry."

(LM/MH)