Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask His Majesty's Government when if at all they intend to reply to the letter dated 15 September from Lord Berkeley to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and the Leader of the House of Commons, regarding the governance of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and similar bodies established by Royal Charter, which called for such bodies to publish and maintain their professional standards, monitor those members using them, and sanction those members who have failed to comply with them.
Answered by Baroness Penn - Minister on Leave (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State)
Unfortunately, the department has no record of receiving the letter prior to 22 November. The department will endeavour to respond as soon as possible.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the performance of professional bodies, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Institution of Civil Engineers, in their compliance with their duties under their Royal Charters to ensure the maintenance of professional standards in their industries rather than the maximising of professional fees.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Privy Council has no jurisdiction to investigate or intervene in the internal affairs of Chartered bodies. The only role that the Privy Council has in relation to Chartered bodies is the reactive one of considering amendments to Charters and Bylaws that are submitted to it for approval by the Chartered body.
The grant of a Royal Charter confers independent legal personality on a body and defines its objectives, constitution and powers to govern its own affairs. Incorporation by Royal Charter is a prestigious way of acquiring legal personality. Complaints against a Chartered body should be addressed to the body itself or, if a member, by raising issues directly with the organisation.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent by HS2 Ltd on consultants and advisors for each of the Phases 1, 2a and 2b of the HS2 project; which contracts with consultants and advisers valued at over £50 million are still operational; and which contracts have been terminated following the announcement of the cancellation of most of the HS2 project.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Details regarding expenditures on HS2, which include consultancy services, can be accessed through the Government's transparency data website.
Information related to past, current and future contract opportunities on the HS2 programme can be found on HS2 Ltd’s website.
With regard to terminating contracts on HS2 following the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications of the cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a, 2b and HS2 East. The Department will provide a further update due course once these cost assessments have been assured.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of much of the HS2 project, whether they will review the design and procurement of the rolling stock to be used on HS2, such that all commissioned new train sets will be able to continue on to the existing rail network.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Hitachi-Alstom joint venture is contracted to manufacture and maintain the HS2 rolling stock for Phase 1 of the project. We will complete Phase 1 of HS2 between Birmingham and London, with a rescoped Euston station. The contracted HS2 trains are designed to be capable of operating on both the existing rail network and new High Speed Rail network. As such a review of network interoperability is not required.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement by HS2 Ltd that £11.5 billion of two-tier contacts have been let by HS2 up to July 2023, what reduction in this total value is expected following the announcement of the cancellation of Phases 2a and 2b of HS2; and what reductions in the scope and value of contracts are planned to reduce the costs of HS2 Phase 1.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications of the cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a and 2b, including any consequential impacts on Phase One, and will update in due course once these cost assessments have been assured.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the specifications of the parts of HS2 that have not been cancelled to allow train sets currently operating on the existing West Coast Main Line network to operate on all remaining parts of the HS2 line.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Due to different technical standards, there are currently no plans to amend the HS2 infrastructure to support trains that currently run on the conventional network.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether accessible station transfers for disabled passengers and passengers with luggage at Old Oak Common and Euston stations will be re-designed, given that building work on HS2 has been paused between these stations.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are no plans currently to redesign Old Oak Common station where construction is well underway and plans to develop an affordable HS2 Euston station will continue. The HS2 platforms at both stations will support level boarding and step free access from street to the train.
The Great Western Mainline platforms at Old Oak Common have been designed to Network Rail main-line standards. There are challenges in providing level boarding due to the need to accommodate multiple types of passenger and freight rolling stock. However, officials are engaged with Transport for London to assess the viability of possible technical solutions.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put out to full tender the development of the HS2 Euston station, approach tracks and tunnel to Old Oak Common.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The exact design of the model to be used, how it is taken to market, as well as how and where the alternative funding generated by this will be spent, is commercially sensitive and still subject to further work to ensure we are optimising funding and delivery.
There will be a range of options within this that are still being considered and will require more time to develop before a final proposal is determined. Creating an alternative financing model that delivers value for money for the taxpayer will take time to develop.
The Government’s ambition remains to make best use of funding from alternative sources to enable delivery of the whole project and to ensure that funding is underpinned by contributions from those people and businesses this development supports. Options for using this alternative funding to cover the costs of the tunnel between Old Oak Common and Euston are also being considered.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest estimated cost for the construction of HS2 from the Eastern end of Old Oak Common station and the proposed six platform HS2 Euston station.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Following the Network North announcement, the scope and cost estimates for this section of the route are subject to review. An updated cost will be reported to Parliament in due course, noting that we are seeking to strip back the project scope and deliver a station that works, but does not include any features we do not need.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of expected journey times between the HS2 station at Old Oak Common and Tottenham Court Road Underground station via (1) the planned HS2 station at Euston and the Northern line, and (2) the Elizabeth line.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We do not have modelled journey times from Old Oak Common to Tottenham Court Road as requested. The nearest station for which we have estimated journey times is Bond Street (see table below), with journey times broadly similar by either route . Estimated journey times comprise in-vehicle time, wait time and walking time.
Destination | From Old Oak Common via Elizabeth Line | From Old Oak Common via Euston on HS2 |
Bond Street | 24.8 mins | 24.6 mins |