Written Statements

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

Monday 23 March 2026

Trade Envoy Programme: Appointment

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Trade (Chris Bryant)]

The Secretary of State has today made the following appointment to the United Kingdom’s trade envoy programme.

The United Kingdom’s trade envoys are important to this Government’s growth agenda. They support Ministers to deliver trade and investment outcomes within the industrial and trade strategies and attract foreign direct investment across UK regions.

Working in close partnership with our ambassadors, high commissioners, and His Majesty’s trade commissioners, trade envoys support deeper bilateral trade relationships, lead trade missions, welcome inward delegations, and address market access challenges to ensure British firms can compete and succeed.

The role as a United Kingdom trade envoy is unpaid and voluntary with cross-party membership from both Houses.

The Secretary of State is pleased to appoint:

My hon. Friend the Member for Hemel Hempstead (David Taylor) as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy to Japan.

Today’s appointment means there are now 31 trade envoys focusing on 72 markets.

[HCWS1427]

School-based Nursery Capital Grant Outcomes

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Olivia Bailey)]

Early education is one of the most powerful drivers of a child’s future life chances. The earliest years shape children’s development, confidence and wellbeing, and we know that those who start school already behind their peers face a much harder journey to catch up. That is why I am proud this Government are putting their focus firmly where it belongs: on the early years.

Through our “Giving every child the best start in life” strategy, we committed to expanding access to high-quality early education across the country. We are ensuring a record proportion of children reach a good level of development by the end of reception year and we are building on Labour’s legacy of Sure Start with our Best Start family hubs. We have already raised early years pupil premium to its highest level ever and are transforming SEND support for under-fives. We have also significantly expanded access to early education, with savings of up to £8,000 on average for eligible parents accessing their full childcare entitlement and, importantly, helping every child get ready for school. Today we are further delivering on that promise—supporting families, strengthening local provision, and ensuring every child has the best possible start in life.

Since we launched the school-based nursery programme last year, 214 nurseries have already opened, creating more than 5,000 new childcare places. I want to recognise the headteachers, early years professionals, and wider school staff who have worked with such determination to bring these projects to life in under a year. Their work is already making a difference to families whose children now have access to high-quality early learning in their local communities and they represent a vital part of our early education sector. Providers already give parents the flexibility to choose what best suits their family needs and this programme builds on this by increasing provision and choice, seeking to draw on the rich expertise found across maintained nursery schools, childminders, private and voluntary providers, and primary schools.

Today, I am pleased to confirm the next step in this mission. We are investing £45 million to support 331 additional schools to establish or grow their nurseries, creating more than 6,000 further places. More than a third of these new places will be in the most disadvantaged areas, ensuring support reaches the children who stand to benefit the most. Children from low-income families gain particularly strongly from high-quality early education, which has been shown to improve outcomes throughout their school years.

I am especially pleased that 20 maintained nursery schools are included in this second phase. Maintained nursery schools have an exceptional track record in supporting disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs, and this investment will enable them to expand that vital work.

Looking ahead, phase 3 of the programme will go even further. Local authorities will lead multi-year proposals backed by up to £325 million of additional investment. They know their local communities best, and this long-term approach will give them the tools they need to plan strategically for sufficiency, inclusion, and quality.

For the first time, Best Start family hubs will be able to receive funding to create or expand a nursery. This presents fresh opportunities to bring early education together with wider family support, health services and SEND provision in a single, joined-up offer for families. It will also support new partnerships with early years providers across the private, voluntary, and maintained sectors.

We know that school-based nurseries play a central role in inclusion. They care for proportionally more young children with special educational needs, and the funding confirmed today will help strengthen that role—ensuring children with SEND receive timely, high-quality support from the outset.

Across every part of this work—whether expanding school-based nurseries, investing in maintained nursery schools, or linking childcare with Best Start family hubs—our mission is the same: to build a system that delivers the right support, in the right place, at the right time.

We are making sustained, significant investment in the early years so that all provider types can work together to deliver for families—strengthening local sufficiency, driving up quality, and ensuring parents can access provision that truly meets their needs.

Taken together, these actions form a single, coherent ambition: to give every child the very best possible start in life.

[HCWS1429]

Waste Crime Action Plan

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Mary Creagh)]

The Government have published our waste crime action plan for England. The plan sets out our zero-tolerance approach to prevent waste crime, pursue the criminals responsible and accelerate the clean-up effort.

People take pride in the places they call home: the streets outside their front door, the parks where children play, and the fields and riversides where they walk. But fly-tippers and waste criminals blight our communities and exploit the waste sector for profit. These people damage the environment, threaten public safety and undercut decent businesses doing the right thing.

The Environmental Services Association estimates that 20% of all waste in England is illegally managed, and that waste crime is costing our economy £1 billion each year. In 2023-24, we lost at least £150 million in revenue due to landfill tax evasion.

Since coming into office, this Labour Government have taken significant strides to tackle the waste criminals. We have boosted the Environment Agency’s enforcement budget by 50%, pursued major regulatory reforms and boosted the joint unit for waste crime. In the first 18 months of this Parliament, the Environment Agency stopped illegal waste activity at 1,205 sites, achieved 122 prosecutions and put 10 criminals behind bars.

The waste crime action plan shows how we are increasing our response to waste crime in three ways:

Prevention. We are strengthening the regulatory regime to make it harder for waste criminals. We are tightening the rules around waste carriers, brokers and dealers to close the loopholes that criminals exploit. We are introducing digital waste tracking to improve accountability and traceability. We are expanding tax-check rules to the waste sector, making waste permit renewals conditional on operators passing checks on their tax records. We are equipping councils and regulators with the tools they need to deter, disrupt and stop illegal waste activity before it emerges or escalates.

Enforcement. Offenders must face the consequences of their actions. We are committing a further £45 million over the next three years for the Environment Agency to spend on waste crime enforcement, up from £10 million in 2023-24. We are going to give new police-style powers to Environment Agency officers to intervene earlier, disrupt criminal networks and bring more criminals to justice. We are investing in satellite technology and drones to improve early detection of waste crime and build stronger evidence for prosecution. We will make fly-tippers join “clean-up squads” and put penalty points on their driving licences. Waste criminals will face penalties that reflect the full severity of the harm that they cause.

Remediation. We are directly cleaning up a small number of the worst sites, starting immediately with site-specific assessments to determine the feasibility of clearing sites at: Alan Ramsbottom Way, Hyndburn; Worthing Road, Sheffield; and Bolton House Road, Wigan.

We are also supporting the remediation of other illegal waste sites, developing a landfill tax rebate scheme with local authorities. We are working with the insurance industry to explore new models to protect farmers, businesses and landowners from bearing the cost of waste dumped illegally on their land.

Waste crime has grown more organised and more damaging. The Government’s response are stepping up to match it.

Through this action plan, we are taking a zero-tolerance approach. We will build a thriving waste sector—safe from exploitation, fair for business and fit for the future—we will catch and prosecute the criminals responsible, and we will restore pride in our communities.

[HCWS1430]

Meningococcal Disease Outbreak

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Wes Streeting)]

I am updating the House on the ongoing outbreak of invasive meningococcal disease in Kent. My heartfelt condolences go to the families of the two young people who have sadly died, and my sympathies are with all those who remain in hospital. This is a distressing time for many.

I would like to pay tribute to frontline staff in Kent, across the NHS and in the UK Health Security Agency for their rapid and professional response to this unprecedented outbreak. While individual cases of meningococcal group B disease are not uncommon, an outbreak of this scale is highly unusual, which is why additional measures are being taken.

As of 5 pm on 22 March, a total of 29 cases of invasive meningococcal disease have been identified, comprising 20 confirmed and nine probable cases. Of the confirmed cases, 19 have been confirmed as being meningococcal group B—or MenB—and one is awaiting serogrouping. Some cases might be confirmed or downgraded in the coming days. UKHSA is reviewing the relevant results with hospital clinicians and is communicating with patients.

The outbreak remains geographically localised and the risk to the wider population continues to be low. All cases to date have links to Canterbury. Sixteen cases—confirmed and probable—are higher education students, including 13 from the University of Kent and two from Canterbury Christchurch University. Three confirmed cases are associated with three secondary schools in Kent. Twenty-two cases are known to have attended Club Chemistry in Canterbury, which remains closed. UKHSA continues active contact tracing to identify individuals at increased risk.

From the outset, local NHS teams and national public health experts have been working closely with businesses, universities, schools and colleges to protect students, families and the wider community. Clear advice on symptoms and when to seek medical attention has been provided, and frontline clinicians have been alerted to ensure early recognition of cases.

A single course of antibiotics is highly effective at reducing transmission. Immediately after the outbreak was identified, UKHSA deployed 50,000 doses of stockpiled antibiotics to the local area to ensure rapid access for those at highest risk. As of 5 pm on 22 March, 12,837 doses of antibiotics had been administered.

Although preventive antibiotics remain the primary tool to control the outbreak, targeted meningitis B vaccination has also been introduced to provide longer-term protection for students and young people in the area. Vaccination is being offered to all those who have received preventive antibiotics, and to years 12 and 13 students in schools and colleges in Kent where confirmed or probable cases have been identified. Further use in other age groups or settings may be recommended following individualised risk assessments with affected settings.

Anyone who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury between 5 and 15 March has been offered a vaccine and antibiotics as a precaution, after a suspected case revisited the venue shortly before it closed voluntarily. This extension ensures that those most likely to have been exposed are provided with protection as early as possible. Details of vaccination sites are available on the NHS Kent and Medway integrated care system website.

As of 5 pm on 22 March, 9,611 vaccinations had been administered to those at highest risk. I strongly encourage all eligible individuals to take up this offer.

Recognising the anxiety felt by many parents and young people, 20,000 doses of the vaccine have been released to the private market by GSK to ease the pressure on local pharmacy supplies.

Routine vaccination programmes, including the UK’s infant meningitis B programme, are determined by the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisations, which assesses evidence on clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, safety and population impact. As I told the House on 17 March, in the context of the current meningococcal disease outbreak, I have asked the JCVI to re-examine eligibility for meningitis vaccines to assess, for example, an expanded offer to older children and/or young adults. The JCVI will provide updated advice to the Department on whether, and to what extent, a vaccine programme for older children and/or young adults would be clinically effective as well as an assessment of the cost-effectiveness of such a vaccination programme.

UKHSA continues to support education settings, working closely with the Department for Education. All affected education settings remain open. Children and young people should attend their education setting normally, unless specifically told otherwise by a health professional. Attendance supports the education, health and wellbeing of children and young people.

As part of the investigation, UKHSA laboratories have completed initial genetic analysis of a meningococcal strain isolated during this outbreak. Results confirm that the Bexsero vaccine currently being offered should provide protection. The strain belongs to a group of bacteria known as group B meningococci, sequence type 485 belonging to the larger clonal complex ST-41-44. Similar strains have been circulating in the UK for around five years, but further detailed analysis on this strain is occurring with academic experts. UKHSA has published the genome data to support wider national and international research.

Meningococcal disease is a serious illness that can cause meningitis, which is an inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain, and sepsis—blood poisoning.

Symptoms include a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass, sudden high fever, severe or worsening headache, stiff neck, vomiting or diarrhoea, joint or muscle pain, dislike of bright lights, cold hands and feet, seizures, confusion or delirium, and sleepiness or difficulty waking. The onset can be extremely rapid. Anyone experiencing symptoms should urgently seek medical attention. Early treatment saves lives.

I want to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly to care for those affected and keep people safe. To the UKHSA and other public health officials working to contain the outbreak. The NHS team who stood up a vaccination programme within one day of it being announced, distributed antibiotics, and those caring for young patients in hospital. The school, college and university staff keeping students and parents informed, helping young people through the distress of this outbreak, and keeping their education going. And the thousands of students, pupils, and other members of the public who have so readily and responsibly come forward for antibiotics and vaccination.

[HCWS1434]

Delivering for Communities

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (Miatta Fahnbulleh)]

Today I can confirm a major package of support for communities to take control of their future. This includes £301 million to reimagine and revive struggling high streets through our high street innovation partnerships, £18 million to improve children’s playgrounds in deprived areas, a major expansion of the Pride in Place programme, and pilots to drive place-based public service reform. Through these measures, the Government are boosting the sense of pride that people feel in their area and making sure that they see change for the better.

In February, the Prime Minister announced that a further 40 places will join the Pride in Place programme. That means that 284 communities will benefit from this transformational fund, with each receiving up to £20 million over the next decade to invest in the things that matter to local people. Today I am confirming the 40 places selected.

We have also approved plans for the first phase of Pride in Place places, setting out what the communities included in the programme will be spending the money on and how they plan to transform their areas.

In Ramsgate, the community has decided to invest £500,000 to save the town’s last youth centre from closure, securing the building’s future and ensuring that vital services for young people can continue. In Bilston, Wolverhampton, the local neighbourhood board has chosen to bring back the Bilston carnival for the first time since 2008, reviving a well-loved tradition and giving a new generation something to celebrate together.

Backed by £301 million of funding, our high streets innovation partnerships will help struggling high streets to shift to a new model: one that is based on an exciting new future, not a return to an imagined past. In a select number of areas, local authorities will be encouraged to work alongside communities and businesses to develop transformative plans such as to bring public services, green spaces and homes into the centres of these towns, working with anchor institutions and businesses to secure co-investment.

The partnerships will also deliver a summer of activity on high streets this year, with innovative measures to boost footfall in a season of major cultural and sporting events, such as the world cup. Later this year we will also publish a high streets strategy to support all high streets nationally and equip local authorities with the tools they need to drive long-term regeneration.

In too many neighbourhoods, local playgrounds are sliding into disrepair or have disappeared entirely. Our investment in playgrounds will reverse this decline, building and restoring play equipment in the places with the highest levels of child poverty and the lowest quality of playgrounds. The £18 million investment that we are confirming today will ensure that children in some of the most deprived communities have the quality of space they need to play. The funding is to be spent by 66 local authorities on up to 200 new or refurbished playgrounds and has been allocated across England, from Tyneside to Torquay.

We are using place-based budgets to pool public service budgets in local areas to enable services to be delivered better, joined up around the people who need them most, by breaking down silos, unlocking more funding for prevention and improving better outcomes for taxpayers. These will ensure that users are helped based on their need.

We have launched five projects with mayoral strategic authorities initially, focusing on special educational needs and disabilities across the Liverpool city region; young people at risk of offending in Gateshead and South Tyneside; adolescent mental health across four local authorities in the Black Country—Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall—adults facing multiple disadvantage in Doncaster; and preventing youth unemployment across West Yorkshire.

Taken together, this package demonstrates a genuine shift in power and investment into our communities. We are not starting at square one. In every community, thousands of community leaders, volunteers and grassroots organisations are already working hard to make their areas a better place to live. This package provides the investment they need to deliver the change that people want to see.

[HCWS1428]

Housebuilding and Infrastructure Delivery

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

Over the past 20 months, this Government have taken a series of bold and decisive steps to lay the grounds for high and sustainable rates of house building and improved infrastructure delivery in the years ahead. Today, I am announcing a series of further targeted measures to help stimulate housing supply and infrastructure provision.

To facilitate the more effective delivery of critical infrastructure, we are publishing an implementation plan, which can be found on gov.uk at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/streamlining-infrastructure-planning-implementation-plan

It sets out in detail the steps we will take over the coming months to bring into force the beneficial reforms to the nationally significant infrastructure projects system contained in our landmark Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025.

This implementation plan will give applicants, investors, practitioners, local planning authorities and other statutory bodies and affected communities the clarity they need to realise the full potential of our reforms. Its publication supplements the efforts already under way to test more efficient and streamlined approaches to determining development consent order applications, including smoother and faster planning inspectorate examinations where appropriate, and pilots for key projects like East West Rail to make use of new flexibilities.

To provide further support for house building, a new consultation direction will be made this month specifying that where a local planning authority intends to refuse planning permission for a housing scheme of 150 dwellings or more, they must consult the Secretary of State to enable Ministers to decide whether to use their existing powers to call in that planning application.

I am also confirming today that we will consult on further proposed changes to the consultation direction covering commercial development of 15,000 square metres or more and approvals within detailed emergency planning zones. The relevant consultation can be found on gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consulting-the-secretary-of-state-on-planning-decisions

The Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 introduced new powers for local fee setting, which will enable LPAs to set their own planning application fees through a local variation model. Under this approach, a national default fee will remain in place and apply to all LPAs, unless an LPA chooses to vary from the default fee for any or all application fee categories to reflect their own cost recovery needs.

We are today launching a consultation on the national default fee schedule designed to better reflect the costs LPAs incur. This is a vital step towards better resourcing LPAs and driving better outcomes including faster determination times, improved service standards and stronger performance across the planning system. The relevant consultation can be found on gov.uk at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/fees-for-planning-applications

We have also published regulations to fully implement the power for compulsory purchase orders to be conditionally confirmed. This will give councils greater confidence to use CPOs earlier to deliver public benefits, help progress stalled sites and provide certainty in respect of land assembly. The regulations can be found on gov.uk at:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/308/contents/made



I can also confirm today the allocation of £234 million of devolved land and infrastructure grant funding from our new national housing delivery fund for mayoral strategic authorities in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, the East Midlands, Greater Lincolnshire, Hull and East Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West of England and York and North Yorkshire. This will be delivered as a continuation of the existing brownfield housing fund to enable mayors to collectively enable the delivery of up to 8,000 new homes.

Finally, I am announcing today that we intend to award an £8.2 million contract to Google and Faculty to develop an artificial intelligence-powered planning tool designed to halve the time it takes for planners to process minor household applications, so that LPAs can provide a more efficient, high-quality planning service.

[HCWS1431]

Large-scale New Communities

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Minister for Housing and Planning (Matthew Pennycook)]

The New Towns Act 1946 was a response to the urgent need to alleviate housing shortages and urban overcrowding in a war-ravaged Britain. The acute and entrenched housing crisis that afflicts England today has far different causes, but the need for equally bold solutions is no less pressing.

As the final report of the New Towns Taskforce laid bare, a chronic shortage of housing is not only blighting countless lives but also hampering economic growth and productivity. The creation of a series of large-scale new communities provides a golden opportunity to make a significant contribution to meeting housing need across England, and to support economic growth by releasing the productive potential of our constrained towns and cities.

The original New Towns Committee established by the then Minister of Town and Country Planning, Lewis Silkin, rightly recognised that building well-planned new communities is a means of achieving national renewal as well as ensuring more families have access to decent, safe, secure and affordable homes. Inspired by the proud legacy of the past, we are now taking the first formal step to honouring our manifesto commitment to build a new generation of new towns.

Building on the diligent work of the New Towns Taskforce under the expert leadership of its chair, Sir Michael Lyons, and deputy chair, Dame Kate Barker, the Government are today launching a public consultation, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/new-towns-draft-programme/new-towns-draft-programme on their new towns programme and the environmental implications of it.

Through this consultation, we are seeking views on our proposals with a view to informing final decisions on how the new programme will operate; which locations will be taken forward; how the next generation of new towns will be planned and delivered; and how design, place-making and planning policy should be approached. The consultation also seeks views on the Government’s offer to locations and feedback on a strategic environmental assessment report that addresses local environmental constraints, the cumulative effects of new towns development, and practical methods of mitigation and monitoring.

The proposals set out in the consultation are the product of the Government’s assessment of whether each of the 12 locations recommended by the New Towns Taskforce, as well as an assessment of alternatives including sites submitted as part of the taskforce’s call for evidence in December 2024, other sites that MHCLG and Homes England were already aware of, and sites that were identified during the SEA process, were capable of meeting the programme’s objectives.

Each location was assessed against three objectives, namely scale, economic growth potential and deliverability. After reviewing over 100 potential sites, the Government determined that 13 locations appeared capable of supporting the programme to achieve its objectives. Of those 13, seven have been assessed as most capable of achieving those objectives and are therefore proposed for inclusion in the new towns programme.

The seven proposals are at different stages of maturity and require different types of intervention and support—including blends of public and private capital—to achieve their potential. The Government therefore intend to tailor their approach to each new town, with a view to making as much progress as possible as fast as possible.

Our seven proposed new town locations include three priority interventions:

A large-scale new settlement in Tempsford at the heart of the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor and at the intersection of East West Rail and the east coast main line that could deliver over 40,000 homes.

An expanded landscape-led development of up to 21,000 new homes bringing together Crews Hill and Chase Park in Enfield that could help address London’s acute housing need.

Urban development to create a well-connected, high-density, city-centre neighbourhood in the heart of Leeds South Bank that could deliver circa 20,000 new homes and support an agglomeration of HMG investment and growth in the city.

As set out in our initial response to the New Towns Taskforce final report, these are particularly promising sites that could make significant contributions to unlocking economic growth and accelerating housing delivery. Subject to the SEA, each will receive significant Government focus and support to deliver.

The remaining four locations also have great potential and will be provided with targeted support to ensure they can progress. Two mature schemes are exciting opportunities already in train where the Government will provide assistance to maximise development opportunities:

The creation of a riverside settlement in Thamesmead, Greenwich that could deliver up to 15,000 new homes, unlocking inaccessible land in the capital and improving connectivity via the planned docklands light railway extension.

Inner-city development and densification of the Manchester Victoria North urban quarter that could deliver at least 15,000 new homes, supporting agglomeration benefits and access to jobs in the growing city centre and other employment hubs across Greater Manchester.

Two scalable schemes are of considerable potential where the Government will provide support for initial phases while exploring opportunities to further scale up development:

A corridor of connected development in south Gloucestershire, across Brabazon and the West Innovation Arc, that could deliver up to 40,000 new homes in one of the highest productivity areas in the country.

A “renewed town” of circa 40,000 new homes in Milton Keynes, reinvigorating the city centre and delivering much needed housing growth to its north and east whilst reshaping the way people travel through a locally appropriate transport solution.

Collectively, schemes in these locations have the potential to provide hundreds of thousands of new homes in the decades ahead and to make a vital contribution to a stronger and more secure economic future for our country. We are determined to get spades in the ground on at least three new towns in this Parliament and will strive to accelerate work on all of the sites that are eventually selected for inclusion in the programme.

As the accompanying SEA report demonstrates, development at the scale we are proposing will need to be mitigated. Good planning, up-front investment, and high-quality design is the best way to achieve this. That is why we are so determined that the next generation of new towns will be built in a way that is consistent with our ambitious place-making principles. As we have always promised, we intend to create well-connected, well-designed, sustainable and attractive places where people want to live with all the infrastructure, amenities and services necessary to sustain thriving communities.

The fact that over 100 sites were submitted in response to the New Towns Taskforce’s call for evidence tells its own story about the significant opportunities that exist across the country when it comes to large-scale new communities. We were impressed by the strength of propositions across the board, including the six locations that we have identified as reasonable alternatives to the programme.

That is particularly true of Plymouth, which is a unique opportunity to bolster the UK’s defence and security and, if not ultimately taken forward as part of the programme, will require special consideration and its own bespoke financial support package to unlock its potential as a centre of excellence in naval technology, and to ensure that housing does not act as a barrier to further growth.

Our new towns programme forms an integral part of our plans to boost innovation, quality and competition in house building. Through land supply certainty, integrated planning, infrastructure co-ordination, the expansion of supply chains, and increased investment in skills and new construction methods, building the next generation of new towns will help transform the way that future large settlements in every part of the country are delivered.

Following the consultation and completion of the SEA and habitats regulations assessments, the Government intend to publish their final proposals later this year. This will confirm the final locations to be taken forward as part of the programme, alongside a full Government response to the recommendations of the New Towns Taskforce, and further detail on precisely how the next generation of new towns will be delivered.

The Government will continue to engage extensively with local leaders, mayors, investors and communities throughout this process to ensure new towns are planned and delivered to the highest standards of design, sustainability and long-term stewardship.

[HCWS1432]

Rail Infrastructure

Monday 23rd March 2026 Written Statements

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

Today I am publishing this Government’s latest report to Parliament on High Speed 2.

When I was appointed Secretary of State, I was clear that significant change was needed to bring HS2 under control. The history of the programme has been characterised by spiralling costs and ever-shifting timelines, in significant part due to past mismanagement.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament in June last year, I gave the new CEO of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild, a clear task: to reset HS2, bring an end to constant cost increases and delays, and deliver the remainder of the programme safely and at the lowest reasonable cost.

Since then, the scale of the challenge in resetting this programme has become even clearer. Mark Wild’s work on the reset has shown that HS2 Ltd did not have an accurate assessment of how much work had been delivered, or of how much was left to do. It is now clear that previous plans significantly underestimated the work required.

Mark Wild and HS2 Ltd have been working closely with my Department and other partners in Government over the past year to assess the remaining scope of work, and to estimate thoroughly how long it will take and how much it will cost to complete the project.

I am determined to explore every opportunity to remove the over-specification and complexity from this project, in order to bring down costs and delivery timelines. This will ensure that the updated cost and schedule estimates are robust, rather than rush the process and risk publishing figures that we do not trust. As such, today I am publishing an interim report, with a more detailed update on the progress of the HS2 reset to follow shortly.

I have commissioned Mark Wild to assess how much money and time could be saved by adopting a specification for HS2 that is more in line with the high-speed railways successfully delivered by the rest of the world. This could involve relying on proven technology and reducing the top operating speed of the railway in line with HS1 and other European counterparts.

On current specification, HS2 trains will run at 360 kilometres per hour, which would make them the fastest conventional high-speed trains anywhere in the world.

The definition of high-speed covers trains running at least 250 kph. China and Spain have the highest design speeds of 350 kph. The maximum commercial passenger speed on the UK conventional rail network is 200 kph, and HS1 runs at 300 kph.

However, no railway in the UK, or globally, is currently engineered for 360 kph. This means that the project would have to wait for HS2 tracks to be built before testing any trains—an approach that could increase costs and delay the completion of the project. The alternative would have been to send trains abroad to test on an existing track running at that speed.

Mark Wild’s initial and provisional estimate is that a specification at reduced speeds could save in the low billions and bring the railway into service sooner, by reducing risk in the delivery of the programme and its testing. However, in learning the lessons of the past, I am eager not to make this decision prematurely; I have asked Mark Wild to report back to me before the summer recess, and I will be considering his advice carefully.

The Government will reflect on the early outcomes of this work, alongside progress on engagement with HS2 Ltd’s main suppliers, ahead of publishing the new cost and schedule estimates once they have been fully assured and approved. It is clear that this review of specification and the wider reset are not going to undo the failures that have led to this point, but they will set a realistic and controlled path to completing the remaining work.

At the same time, I am pleased to report early signs of improvement following a productive year of delivery. Civils works are now at maximum effort and collective action is helping to drive up productivity and safety. The excavation of the HS2 tunnel to Euston has now started following the launch of the final two tunnel boring machines on the programme. Following his appointment as the new chair of HS2 Ltd last summer, Mike Brown has made rapid progress in reshaping the organisation’s board, bringing in new skills, expertise and capability.

Looking ahead, our focus remains on finalising the updated cost and schedule estimates and progressing the reset to address the difficult position that we inherited. This includes reshaping HS2 Ltd and continuing to engage with suppliers to review contracts, implement the recommendations of James Stewart’s independent review and deliver the railway safely and at the lowest reasonable cost.

Delivery control and expenditure

While the reset progresses, the Department will continue to manage HS2 Ltd through strengthened in-year controls and a yearly performance management plan that includes challenging construction targets and performance metrics to deliver within annual budgets. This plan has worked well, with productivity up in almost all sectors of construction.

These strengthened controls will remain as long as needed, determined by the improved performance and capability of HS2 Ltd and the adoption of a new cost and schedule baseline. When HS2 Ltd achieves sufficient capability to consistently deliver to the new baseline, the Department will be able to transition to a more permissive and flexible sponsorship model.

This year, HS2 Ltd has rescheduled some work with the aim of focusing construction efforts on delivering the opening stage of the railway, between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street.

To the end of February 2026, £43.6 billion—nominal prices—had been spent on the HS2 programme. This is provided in more detail in the financial annex, based on data provided by HS2 Ltd.

Spend to date information covers the period up to the end of February 2026. Unless stated otherwise, all figures are presented in nominal prices.

Delivery progress

Delivery progress has historically been poor on some key areas of civils construction. Performance has started improving and the past six months have seen good progress in the delivery of HS2’s civil engineering works. Notably, the Align joint venture, responsible for delivering civil infrastructure on one of the central sections of the HS2 route, is nearing the completion of their major assets. HS2 Ltd will continue working with the main works civils contractors to improve delivery so that the programme can progress to the next stage.

August 2025 saw the completion of construction on the Chiltern tunnel. Boring of the tunnel was completed in 2024, and since then work had been under way on the porous portals, cross passages, emergency walkways, and finishing works. As well as being complex, at 10 miles, it is the longest tunnel on HS2’s route.

All major deep-bore tunnelling between Old Oak Common in London and Birmingham Curzon Street was completed in October 2025, when the breakthrough of tunnel boring machine Elizabeth concluded the excavation of the Bromford tunnel. This marks a significant milestone in the construction of the railway.

In January and March, the final two tunnel boring machines of the programme, Madeleine and Karen, were launched to excavate the twin-bore tunnel between Old Oak Common and Euston in London. Progress on this section of the route makes good on the Government commitment to bringing HS2 into central London.

Six major milestones on tunnels and roads have been completed ahead of in-year schedule, including the sliding of a road bridge for the A46 over the HS2 route in April 2025, the installation of precast beams and overbridges over Station Road near Calvert in August 2025, and the second breakthrough on the Bromford tunnel in Birmingham in October 2025. The north portal structure at the Chiltern tunnel was completed in 12 months, several months faster than the south portal, thanks to lessons learned and innovative construction methods. The excavation of the 8.4-mile Northolt tunnel, the second longest on HS2, was completed on schedule in June 2025 despite complex ground conditions.

Since July 2025, major progress has been made on earthworks. As at February 2026, over 108 million cubic metres of earthworks has been completed across HS2’s civils construction, representing around 70% of the total planned quantities. In August, more than 1.7 million cubic metres of spoil was excavated, filled and processed in our Greatworth to Southam sites alone.

In August 2025, a 112-metre bridge was moved over Lawley Middleway in Birmingham. To minimise disruption to road users, the 1,631-tonne bridge was constructed on land over the span of two years, before being rotated 90 degrees and carefully lifted over the road.

In September 2025, a key construction milestone was achieved as the Colne Valley viaduct, the longest rail bridge in the UK, became structurally complete following the placement of the final deck segment.

Safety remains our top priority in the construction of HS2. In October 2025, following an incident on site, all works across the London tunnels section of the route were brought to a safe stop to allow for a comprehensive safety review to be conducted. While no one was harmed in the incident, HS2 Ltd remains committed to the health and safety of everyone working on its sites. By mid-November all sites were able to reopen, with enhanced procedures and protocols implemented to ensure that all works resumed safely.

Ground investigation works at Interchange station are complete, in advance of detailed design commencing early this year. In order to formulate and advance plans for commercial development at Arden Cross, the area around the new station, engagement with local stakeholders and landowners continues.

Initial utility diversions are continuing for the automated people mover along the route with the first completed in October 2025. Once complete, the Mover will enable passengers to travel seamlessly from Interchange station to Birmingham airport.

At Birmingham Curzon Street station, the last of the 2,011 concrete piles, which form a key part of the foundation for the station, were completed in March. Work on the infrastructure required for the Midland Metro Alliance to deliver the Birmingham Eastside tram extension is progressing well, ahead of the first phased handover of the site to Transport for West Midlands in September 2026. HS2 Ltd and the Midland Metro Alliance are leading workshops over the future operation of the live tram through the Curzon Street site to maintain a collaborative approach and ensure lessons continue to be learnt as delivery progresses.

Work progresses on the six high-speed platforms at Old Oak Common, alongside work on six of the eight surface-level platforms that will serve the Great Western main line, the Elizabeth line, and Heathrow Express. Meanwhile, work continues on a complex sequence of critical utility works to the west of the station site. Key utility diversions are expected to complete this year.

Rail systems contracts for track, signalling, communications and power supplies commenced in February 2025. We have amended the schedule of work to support the wider reset, which has slowed initial mobilisation. However, this will then be followed by a period of design, and development of an integrated schedule for the deployment of railway systems. Work will not start on site until civil works have been completed. This is learning from the premature start of main civil works on HS2 as well as from previous projects such as Crossrail, where systems installation started before civils had finished.

Procurement of the Washwood Heath Depot continues.

As HS2 Ltd has further developed the operational design of the railway, it has become clear that platform-edge doors, which are screens along platform edges to safely separate passengers and trains, are no longer technically viable. Therefore, the procurement was abandoned via a contract notice in July 2025. The tender for the train dispatch system, which is the system to ensure the safe departure of trains from stations, has also been amended to remove the interface with the platform-edge doors.

Fraud investigation

In my previous report, I referred to allegations of fraud made in relation to an HS2 labour supplier. Upon completion of an investigation by the main contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci, the contract of this labour supplier was terminated in July 2025. HS2 Ltd formally referred the matter to His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and has since concluded its own wider investigation of all labour-only subcontractors. I have been clear that such allegations need to be investigated rapidly and rigorously, and I am glad to see that swift action was taken.

Community impacts, land and property

HS2 Ltd continues to inform and involve communities who are impacted by construction. Between April and December 2025, over 15,000 residents were engaged at over 1,700 meetings and events. A further 22,000 enquiries were received via the HS2 Ltd help desk, which operates 24 hours a day.

During the same period, HS2 Ltd received 1,067 complaints, the vast majority of which continue to relate to the impacts of construction, including concerns about traffic and transport disruption, and noise and vibration impacts. HS2 Ltd is committed to resolving complaints promptly. Of the 1,067 complaints received, HS2 Ltd resolved 100% of urgent complaints within two working days and resolved 98% of all other complaints within 20 working days or less.

Successful deployment of the £40 million community and environment fund and the business and local economy fund has now passed the halfway point. This is a significant milestone and means that, as at February 2026, over £21.1 million had been invested in communities and businesses that have been demonstrably disrupted by the construction of HS2, delivering over 379 projects that will leave an enduring legacy.

We understand the continuing impact that HS2 is having on those who live or have businesses on or near the route. In previous reports we have recognised the need for HS2 Ltd to make faster progress in settling claims and resolving other issues affecting people whose land has been acquired or possessed for the project. While HS2 Ltd has increased the rate at which claims on phase 1 are being settled, we have made it clear to the company that further improvement is needed. On the former phase 2a route, we recognise the concerns that have been expressed regarding the quality of communication from HS2 Ltd and a lack of progress in resolving land issues. We have made it clear to HS2 Ltd’s leadership that performance in this respect needs to improve, and we will be scrutinising the measures taken by the company to address these concerns.

Financial annex

Historic and forecast expenditure

The information on HS2’s overall spend to date and budget is now being provided in nominal—cash—terms following a commitment made by the Department to the Public Accounts Committee to express the costs of the programme in a more up-to-date price base and better capture the inflation incurred since 2019. The Government provided further details of the 2025 to 2026 position in cash terms as part of the standard supplementary estimates report to Parliament.

This is expressed in nominal prices, including land and property.