To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 10 May 2007, Official Report, column 344W, on the Olympic games: Greater London, how his Department plans to monitor progress towards and achievement of the targets set by construction skills to address the skills needs of the Olympic project; whether these targets will extend beyond 2012; and if he will make a statement. (138894)

The ConstructionSkills Council and CITB-ConstructionSkills’ Board review performance against targets regularly, using data supplied by the Construction Skills Network. Regular meetings between CITB-ConstructionSkills and DFES at both official and ministerial level ensure that the Government is kept well-informed about progress. The achievements of key targets for London and the South East will to continue to be reported in CITB-ConstructionSkills’s annual report which is laid before Parliament each spring.

The Construction Skills Network works to a five year forecasting model and current forecasts cover up to 2012. They are, however, working with the Office for Government Commerce to develop models for London, the Greater South East and the rest of the UK that extend 10 years forward. This will help to ensure that ConstructionSkills and the Government have a better understanding of the industry's capacity in the longer term.