Found: document: This is a letter from the House of Lords, Select Committee on the Constitution to Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 October (HL11342), what were the forecast effects of (1) the Elizabeth Line, and (2) Worcestershire Parkway Station prior to their opening; and what are the latest measured effects of those schemes.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The forecast effects and latest measured effects of the Elizabeth Line are set out in two post-opening evaluation reports published in 2024 and 2025. Both reports can be found on the Transport for London website.

In summary, the evaluation evidence finds that the Elizabeth Line has had positive impact on both employment growth and housing growth, although the impacts have not been uniform across all areas. The evaluation finds that between 2015 and 2023, employment growth around Elizabeth line stations consistently outperformed the total London average (25% growth around Elizabeth line stations compared to 14% in London). The growth in jobs and connectivity has been accompanied by a surge in housebuilding. 71,000 new homes have been delivered around Elizabeth line stations since 2015. By 2024, the residential property stock around inner London Elizabeth line stations increased by 19% compared to 10% for all inner London.

The forecast effects of the opening of the Worcestershire Parkway Station were expected to be: (i) reducing road congestion and road vehicle carbon emissions by reducing road vehicle usage; (ii) address Worcestershire's poor accessibility to and from London arising from the limited frequency and length of journey time of North Cotswold Line services; (iii) transform access to the rail network for Worcestershire passengers; and (iv) tackle Worcestershire's exclusion from the Cross Country network (Bristol-Birmingham-North West/North East).

No post-opening evaluation of Worcestershire Parkway Station has as yet been carried out. However, latest measured impacts of the station are assessed as:

• Passenger numbers: Over 2 million journeys in five years, far exceeding forecasts.

• Carbon impact: Achieved carbon neutrality within five years; saves ~1.8 million kgCO₂e annually.

• Economic and transport role: Significant modal shift to rail, reducing congestion and supporting sustainable travel; demand strong enough to trigger plans for car park expansion and service enhancements.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 October (HL11342), what has been the effect on projected housing growth and access to employment in the relevant areas of (1) the Elizabeth Line, and (2) Worcestershire Parkway Station.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The latest evidence on the effect of the Elizabeth Line on housing growth and access to employment can be found in the 2024 and 2025 post-opening evaluation reports. Both reports can be found on the Transport for London website.

In summary, the evaluation evidence finds that the Elizabeth Line has had positive impact on both employment growth and housing growth, although the impacts have not been uniform across all areas. The evaluation finds that between 2015 and 2023, employment growth around Elizabeth line stations consistently outperformed the total London average (25% growth around Elizabeth line stations compared to 14% in London). The growth in jobs and connectivity has been accompanied by a surge in housebuilding. 71,000 new homes have been delivered around Elizabeth line stations since 2015. By 2024, the residential property stock around inner London Elizabeth line stations increased by 19% compared to 10% for all inner London.

No post-opening evaluation of Worcestershire Parkway Station has as yet been carried out. However, the measured impact on housing and access to employment of the station are assessed as:

• Housing: Strategic growth area planned for up to 10,000 homes and a new town centre; initial phase aims for 5,000 dwellings and 50 hectares of employment land by 2041.

• Employment: Mixed-use development includes logistics and office space; Midlands Rail Hub proposals could add 140 weekly services, expanding access to jobs in Birmingham, Cardiff, and beyond.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 27 October (HL11341), what delays faced by road users during  the works were factored into the calculations of overall reduction in congestion and journey times.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

In line with the Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) Unit A1.3, User and Provider Impacts, costs to existing transport users due to the construction of a road investment scheme are recorded in the appraisal. The impact of delays during construction and maintenance are estimated using the same transport models used to predict the overall traffic effects of the scheme. Bespoke software packages, as described in TAG, are used to value the delays to transport users using standard economic parameters.

The Transport Economic Efficiency (TEE) table, produced for all road investment schemes, allows for the user delays during construction and maintenance to be recorded alongside the travel time benefits of the road investment scheme, to ensure that the economic appraisal accounts for both the benefits and disbenefits for users of the road investment scheme.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 16 October (HL10758), whether the Green Book Guidance and the Transport Analysis Guidance make allowance for large scale delays in the commissioning of new and road improvement schemes, and accidents associated with those schemes.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Transport appraisals informed by HM Treasury’s Green Book and DfT’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG) take account of delays in the commissioning of road schemes via a few mechanisms.

As set out in the Transport Business Case Guidance, the established business case process is designed to be flexible, and responsive to evidence that emerges throughout the duration of the proposal’s development. This includes reflecting emerging evidence on project timelines in the analysis that informs the economic dimension.

TAG contains detailed guidance on setting an appropriate appraisal period, running from the scheme opening date. We intend to include plans to expand this guidance to make it more helpful for promoters assessing potential changes in opening dates, as part of our upcoming Appraisal, Modelling and Evaluation Strategy (AMES), to be published early next year.

Where scheme delivery is expected to take longer, TAG also contains advice on how to appraise impacts to existing transport users that occur during the construction of schemes.

Regarding accidents, TAG contains extensive guidance and tools to assist promoters in assessing the likely accident and safety impacts associated with a scheme. As with all TAG methods, these approaches are kept under review, and updated with robust evidence where appropriate.

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Found: Letter dated 04/11/2025 from Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill to Lord Kirkhope regarding a question raised

Found: Letter dated 06/11/2025 from Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the

Found: Letter dated 06/11/2025 from Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill to the Deposited Papers Clerk regarding the

Found: Letter dated 04/11/2025 from Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill to Baroness Foster regarding a question raised