Mr. James Benson:

I will be as brief as possible to give Mr. James a chance to contribute.

As for the six-year cycle, we need to investigate the potential of having a ten-year or 12-year cycle, similar to what they have in the UK. That recognises that six years is not enough to get through zoning, infrastructure, planning, procurement, commencement and build. It is simply not happening. It is taking decades. The complication with that is whether it aligns with the regional spatial and economic strategies. Those councillors who are involved in the drafting of county development plans have only five-year terms. There is a lot to work out there, but I think we all recognise that six years is not enough, particularly when we do not have tiering of lands for the forward acquisition of those lands and the putting in place of critical infrastructure.

As for the traineeship model, it has taken four years plus but we are seeing apprenticeship numbers go up, thankfully, because there is now certainty and committed funding there. It is not happening quickly enough, however. We are still not seeing great numbers come into a number of trades - for example, the ill-termed wet trades, that is, blocklaying, bricklaying and tiling. We should pay extra attention to those areas. Is there the potential to complete such apprenticeships within 18 or 24 months where there is a combination of classroom and on-site learning? The apprenticeship model requires the individual to be employed. Are apprentices guaranteed five years of work to bring them through that apprenticeship full-scale? If it is a traineeship model, do they go through a scheme, go out to an employer on almost a work placement and demonstrate their competency and are they then taken on by the employer? There are a lot of benefits, but I would focus on the wet trades at the moment, given that the numbers in them are low.