Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many houses have been compulsorily purchased along the route of HS2, and how many have been demolished.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
HS2 Ltd does not categorise properties by type - i.e. ‘houses’ - as a property can have mixed usage. For example, a farm can be (or have within it properties which are) residential, commercial, and/or agricultural, and similarly, a pub can be (and often is) both residential and commercial.
HS2 Ltd does record the number of property compensation claims made, however, the quantity of claims does not indicate how many houses (or other properties) have been acquired because property arrangements are highly varied.
HS2 Ltd does record the amount of land that has been acquired. To date, approximately 56km2 of land has been acquired for Phases One and 2a through compulsory purchase. No land or properties have been compulsory purchased along the route of Phase 2b as HS2 Ltd has never had the legal powers to do so.
In respect to demolitions, HS2 records show that 332 structures have been or were scheduled to be demolished along the route of HS2. It should be noted that this figure is not limited to properties but includes other structures such as substations and bridges.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government why and when they authorised the use of cost-plus instead of fixed-price contracts for payment of contractors on HS2; what consultations they held prior to the change; and who authorised that change.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This government has been clear that the position on HS2 is totally unacceptable for passengers and taxpayers. It is acknowledged by this government and new CEO Mark Wild that the past contractual performance of our delivery partners has failed to meet cost and schedule expectations.
We have taken action to grip the project and tasked Mark Wild to reset the project, including reforming and resetting the relationship with the supply chain, and to deliver Phase 1 safely and at the lowest reasonable cost.
Throughout the development of the HS2 programme there has been engagement with industry, and input sought from wider government stakeholders, to seek to ensure that the commercial approaches and contracts adopted are appropriate for the individual assets being delivered. Consequently, a variety of different contract forms are in use across the HS2 programme including both fixed price and defined cost contracts (similar to cost plus), as well as other contract forms. For example, HS2 Ltd’s Main Works Civils Contracts (MWCC) are defined cost, incentivised, two-stage design and build contracts based on the NEC 3 Option C target cost contract model. Such NEC contracts are in common usage throughout the UK construction industry as they provide flexibility and encourage a collaborative approach.
Notice to Proceed was granted on HS2 Ltd’s Phase One Main Works Contracts in 2020. At that time there was no prospect of determining a reliable fixed price, nor getting the supply chain to agree to such a model given the residual risk. Therefore fixed price contracts were not viewed as viable.
As with all procurement activity on HS2, these contracts were let in line with HS2 Ltd’s governance and assurance requirements which conform with UK procurement law.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether owners of property purchased for the route of HS2 were required to enter non-disclosure agreements as a condition for receiving compensation, if so why, and who authorised this.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
It is not a condition of receiving compensation for property purchased on the HS2 route that the owner must enter into a non-disclosure agreement.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much the HS2 project has cost to date; what estimate they have made of the cost of completing the project; and when they anticipate that it will be completed.
Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
This Government inherited an exceptionally bad position at HS2, and has been working hard to grip HS2’s spiralling costs and has tasked HS2 Ltd’s CEO with conducting a comprehensive review of the programme, including assessing the current position on cost and schedule. He will provide advice for government to assess leading to agreeing a reset budget in 2026.
As reported in the last HS2 report to Parliament in December 2024, overall spend to date was £30.2 billion (2019 prices). An update will be provided in the next report to Parliament.
The date for delivery of initial HS2 services between Birmingham Curzon Street and Old Oak Common by 2033 remains, but there are significant pressures on this schedule.
We will report to Parliament once we have agreed a revised estimate for cost and schedule.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the cost of completing the first phase of HS2; and what is the projected completion date.
Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Shadow Minister (Home Office)
As set out in the Network North command paper, for the historic Phase 1 scope DfT officials have estimated a provisional range of £45 billion to £54 billion.
Given these cost assessments were made before the decision was taken to cancel Phase 2, the Department has asked HS2 Ltd to consider the revised scope of the project and provide an action plan on how it will deliver this at the lowest reasonable cost. We will be able to provide more information in due course.
Delivery remains on track for the initial high-speed services between Old Oak Common in west London and Birmingham Curzon Street by 2029 to 2033. An updated delivery-into-service range for services to Euston will be provided in due course.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when a decision will be made on whether HS2 is going to terminate at Euston station or Old Oak Common.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The HS2 Phase One scheme, as approved by Parliament and which received Royal Assent in 2017, includes the London HS2 terminus station at Euston, along with a complimentary interchange station at Old Oak Common.
More recently, the Oakervee Review considered the use of Old Oak Common as the London terminus, but concluded that the Government should continue with the section of route from Old Oak Common to Euston, on the basis that Euston station is an important part of realising the benefits of HS2. There are no plans to change location of the London HS2 terminus station from Euston, although Old Oak Common will act as the temporary London terminus for HS2 services until Euston station is complete.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be (1) the top speed, and (2) the average speed, of HS2 (a) between London and Birmingham, and (b) between Birmingham and Crewe.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The top speed on both the London to West Midlands and West Midlands to Crewe sections of HS2 will be 225mph (360km/h). Once HS2 Phase 1 opens in full, HS2 trains will be able to make the 109-mile journey from London Euston to Birmingham Curzon St in 49 minutes, including stops at Old Oak Common and Birmingham Interchange. Excluding the 2 minutes that the train is stopped for passengers to board at each station, this represents an average speed of 145mph. Once HS2 Phase 2a opens, HS2 trains will be able to make the 58-mile non-stop journey from Birmingham Interchange to Crewe in 20 minutes, representing an average speed of 174mph.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government at which stations passengers will be able to board (1) between London and Birmingham, and (2) between Birmingham and Crewe, when HS2 is completed.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
Phase One of HS2 will see a new high speed railway line constructed from Birmingham to London which will run on 140 miles of dedicated track. Four new HS2 passenger stations will be included on the route: London Euston, Old Oak Common (West London), Interchange in Solihull and Birmingham Curzon Street.
Phase 2a will provide 36 miles of dedicated track to Crewe. In addition, passengers will be able to board HS2 services at Stafford and Stoke, via the existing West Coast Main Line.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to delay any removal of ancient woodlands until a further assessment has been made of the viability of HS2.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
There are no plans to delay or pause any HS2 works, including woodland removal, provided they can proceed in line with guidance from Public Health England.
The Oakervee Review recently conducted an assessment of the project and concluded that it should continue. At a time when the construction sector faces uncertainty during the coronavirus outbreak, the Government’s subsequent decision to authorise ‘Notice to Proceed’ for Phase One has provided certainty for construction companies, communities along the route, and the wider UK supply chain supporting this transformational project, which is crucial to the Government’s long-term plan to level up the country.
Asked by: Lord Framlingham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 24 February (HL1571) and prior to their decision to conduct “an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways”, (1) how many miles of smart motorways have been created to date, (2) what has been the total cost of that work, and (3) how many miles of such motorways had been planned.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton
The SRN has been expanding and evolving since the 1960’s, and in 2018 was 4,513 miles in length. The last 25 years has also seen conversion of parts of the motorway network to become smart motorways:
Controlled Motorway (CM) - in 1995 the first mandatory variable speed limits used on the English motorway network were introduced on the M25 J10-J15. By the end of 2018, controlled motorways covered 137 miles of the network (around 3% of the SRN) and carried 7 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 8% of total SRN traffic)
Dynamic Hard Shoulder Running (DHS) - in 2006 the first hard shoulder to be opened to traffic was put into operation on the M42 J3a-7. This pilot scheme was originally known as active traffic management. By the end of 2018, Dynamic Hard Shoulder Running motorways covered 66 miles of the network (around 1% of the SRN) and carried 3 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 3% of total SRN traffic)
All Lane Running (ALR) - in 2014 the first ALR schemes went into operation on the M25 J5-7 and J23-27. By the end of 2018, ALR motorways covered 123 miles of the network (around 3% of the SRN) and carried 5 billion vehicle miles of traffic (around 5% of total SRN traffic).
The smart motorway evidence stocktake report and action plan was published on 12 March 2020 and is available on gov.uk.
I will write to you to answer your questions 2 and 3.