Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of Phase 2 of HS2, how many HS2 trains will be able to operate from London Euston per hour, and what their destinations will be.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
No decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 opens from Euston. These will be made in due course, taking advice from West Coast Partnership Development, HS2 Ltd and Network Rail, and will be subject to consultation.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government who were the accounting officers for HS2 and the Department for Transport in (1) March 2014, (2) January 2016, (3) April 2016, and (4) July 2019; when they were made aware of allegations of deceptions and fraud as reported in the Sunday Times on 22 October; and on which dates and to whom in Government they reported any concerns about cost overrun.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Accounting Officers at HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport were as follows:
HS2 Ltd
DfT
The Government and its public bodies take any allegations raised seriously and will ensure they are thoroughly investigated.
The National Audit Office (NAO) examined historic allegations in 2018 and determined that these were unfounded. There is one new allegation which relates to a live whistleblowing investigation by HS2 Ltd.
It would be inappropriate to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to set up an independent inquiry to review HS2 Phase 1, to either (1) reduce costs, or (2) investigate options for integrating HS2 Phase 1 into the existing Network Rail system.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Following the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement and the changes to the scope of the HS2 programme, HS2 Ltd is working closely with the department to identify further cost reduction options. Officials will continue to assess opportunities to maximise the benefits of the scheme and its integration with the wider rail network. As set out in point 26 of the Network North: Transforming British Transport, we are making changes quickly and decisively so the remainder of HS2 is delivered as cost effectively as possible.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, what changes to design and construction contracts for HS2 are planned following the cancellation of Phase 2; and what will be the likely resulting changes for the overall costs of the project.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to establish the cost implications of the decision not to build Phase 2. This work will include consideration of any necessary changes to HS2 Ltd’s contracts with its supply chain.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what legal process they plan to follow to cancel the HS2 Phase 2B West (Crewe to Manchester) and whether there are any plans for petitioners to be compensated for legal costs incurred.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Government is currently considering the next steps for the High-Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill, including for outstanding petitioners. When decisions have been reached, we will set out these steps to the House in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 20 September (HL9964), whether they intend to place in the Library of the House a copy of the full business case submitted by the Council of the Isles of Scilly in connection with that Council’s bid for levelling up funding for new vessels.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government will not be in a position to place a copy of the Full Business Case submitted by the Council of the Isles of Scilly concerning funding for new vessels in the Library of the House. The Full Business Case is submitted to the department in confidence, and since it contains sensitive commercial information, it cannot be placed in the library.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement that the Isles of Scilly Steamship Group has withdrawn support for the Council of the Isles of Scilly's business case for Levelling Up funding, whether they will ensure that any subsequent application for funding for new vessels or infrastructure is subject to a condition that that Council complies with rules on competitive tendering and local government procurement.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Levelling Up Fund grant to the Council of the Isles of Scilly is dependent upon obtaining an approved compliant full business case for replacement vessels and harbour works. The council has begun a soft market testing exercise to seek other interested parties who may be interested in the project. Any business case or potential future SPV arrangement would need to comply with public procurement rules and would be developed with specialist legal advice.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what reassurances they have had from the Council of the Isles of Scilly that their plans to establish a special purpose vehicle to manage the proposed £48 million grant from the Levelling Up Fund for the procurement of lifeline shipping services comply with local government procurement rules.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Levelling Up Fund grant to the Council of the Isles of Scilly is dependent upon obtaining an approved compliant full business case for replacement vessels and harbour works. The council has begun a soft market testing exercise to seek other interested parties who may be interested in the project. Any business case or potential future SPV arrangement would need to comply with public procurement rules and would be developed with specialist legal advice.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what factors they will take into account in accepting a recommendation from the Council of the Isles of Scilly to accept a bid for new vessels paid for by the Levelling Up Fund, in the absence of a competitive tendering process.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Council for the Isles of Scilly are required to obtain an approved Full Business Case to secure a levelling up fund grant in line with their bid to purchase vessels and harbour works that complies with the Treasury Green Book and the levelling up criteria.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the announcement on 7 September that the UK will re-join the EU's Horizon and Copernicus programmes, whether they will include the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) to facilitate early improvements in the reliability and air safety of small airports.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) is separate to the Horizon and Copernicus Programmes. The DfT is working with other departments to understand the case for a UK Satellite Based Augmentation System (SBAS). As well as replacing the functionality of EGNOS, this system could offer benefits across transport and multiple Critical National Infrastructure sectors. To support this, the DfT is assessing the requirements following loss of access to EGNOS. The DfT is funding a UK SBAS testbed project to demonstrate the capabilities of such a system. This will inform the DfT’s consideration on next steps for this work.