Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether properties acquired as part of the cancelled Northern Phase of HS2 will be offered back to their original owners at the cost of acquisition, or placed for sale on the open market; and in the case of the former, whether the costs of such transactions for both parties will be borne by the HS2 budget.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We are currently developing the programme for selling land and property acquired for the HS2 project that is no longer needed and will set out more details in due course. We will take time to develop this programme carefully to ensure that it delivers value for money to the taxpayer and does not disrupt local property markets.
Under what is known as Crichel Down rules, land and property which was acquired through compulsory purchase, or the threat of compulsion, and which is no longer required and not materially changed, should in certain circumstances be offered back first to its former owner at its current market value before being offered on the open market. Any future purchaser will be responsible for their own costs.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of the Northern Phase of HS2, whether any damage caused to the countryside and environment by the workings of contractors will be remedied at the expense of the HS2 budget.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
As part of ensuring an orderly and respectful close-down of the northern phase of HS2, HS2 Ltd will be reviewing those works that have already taken place and considering the best course of action to take on a case-by-case basis. This may mean restoring some sites to their former condition; it may also mean leaving some early environmental enhancement works in place. No sites will be left incomplete, and all close-down activities will be funded from the HS2 budget.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of the cancellation of the Northern Phase of HS2, as announced by the Prime Minister on 4 October.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the implications of the cancellation of HS2 beyond Birmingham. Rail, roads and buses will benefit from £36 billion in transport improvements from re-directed HS2 costs to build the daily connections that people depend on.
Asked by: Earl of Shrewsbury (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many charging points for electric vehicles there are across the United Kingdom; and whether they have any proposals for increasing this number.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has supported installation of 60,756 chargepoints for plug-in vehicles, including those for domestic use, in the last 10 years. A significant number of chargepoints are being installed without Government funding. Data on all public chargepoints is collected in the National Charge Point Registry.
This Government is aiming for almost every car and van to be a zero emission vehicle by 2050, and we have pledged £500 million over the next five years to achieve this. Further details of this investment will be announced in due course. The Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme is currently funding domestic chargepoints for ultra low emission vehicle motorists.