Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the (a) terms of reference, (b) tendering process and (c) budget is for each of the four technical expert panels being established by HS2.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
a) HS2 Ltd already use Independent Technical Expert Panels (ITEP) to review specific assets. This is consistent with the recommendation made by the HS2 Ltd Chairman in his Stocktake report and the Oakervee Review. The panels work to stress-test and challenge selected assets or areas.
b) HS2 Ltd is currently undertaking a market engagement exercise for covering the requirement to establish, manage and provide ITEPs to peer review its Main Works Civils Contracts (MWCC) scheme, Stations and Phase 2 detailed designs and construction methodology (PIN reference 2020/S 217-533979). The tendering process cannot be confirmed until this market engagement exercise is completed.
c) The total budget for the ITEPs is £5.2 million for the full duration of the contract, including all applicable extension options (an initial duration of 2 years, with options to extend for a further 5 years). The individual panel budgets are commercially sensitive as this information may impact the procurement following the market engagement.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by HS2 Ltd; and if he will list the parties to those agreements.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are used to protect both HS2 Ltd’s information and the information of the other signatory party and are in accordance with typical business practice. These agreements help to avoid placing homes and businesses in unnecessary blight, protect commercially sensitive information of both parties and the personal information of those potentially affected by any proposed changes to the scheme. HS2 Ltd’s Register shows 339 such agreements have been put in place. As this number changes on a frequent basis as the project develops and new agreements are added to the Register we do not intend to publish a list of the parties at the present time.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) HS2 and (b) HS2 contractor vehicles display HS2 identification on their windscreens to enable checks that they are using the correct routes to HS2 sites.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
All vehicles over 3.5t employed on deliveries of construction equipment or materials, or moving quantities of spoil on public roads are required to display an A4 size identifier, stating ‘HS2’ inside the cab windscreen in a position that does not obscure the driver’s visibility. The requirement applies when the vehicle is on HS2 business.
The requirement to display identification is monitored by the contractors and by HS2 Ltd’s dedicated compliance team, and all reasonable steps are therefore taken to ensure compliance with the requirement.
In exceptional circumstances, HS2 Ltd can apply a derogation to this requirement, for example, when lorries and drivers are being specifically targeted by non-peaceful protesters.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many British workers were engaged on the manufacture of the tunnelling machines for HS2.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd did not procure the tunnelling boring machines as responsibility for this is passed to the Main Works Civil Contractors. That’s because each TBM has to be designed to cope with ‘worst case’ ground conditions in a particular location and these can vary significantly from site to site. However, the TBMs will be operated in the UK by a combination of UK and European specialist operatives. Government has set HS2 Ltd a target for procuring 95% of works from UK based companies. More than 2000 UK businesses have already secured work on the programme.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans HS2 Ltd and its contractors have to recruit workers from overseas.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd has offices based in Birmingham and London and over 95% of the HS2 supply chain is UK based.
HS2 Ltd and their main contractors plan their strategic workforce based on the requirements of the project. HS2 Ltd and its supply chain are required to think through the implications of skills shortages and the talent marketplace. Whilst the market remains competitive, thanks to the growing pipeline of major projects HS2 is benefitting from the growing skills base in the UK from the Olympics, Crossrail, and Tideway, and a host of Highways England and Network Rail projects.
HS2 Ltd and its supply chain have to comply with all immigration laws and assure that the workforce has the relevant right to work in the UK.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Greengauge21’s report entitled HS2’s Eastern Arm, published July 2020.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government has made clear its commitment to delivering HS2 Phase 2b and transformational rail improvements. The Integrated Rail Plan to be published at end of year will consider how best to do that, with a focus on integration with proposed major rail investments in the North and Midlands and ensuring that benefits are delivered from investments more quickly.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason details of business expenses, travel costs and hospitality figures have not been published for HS2 personnel since September 2019; and if he will publish those figures.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 Ltd has now published all business expense, travel costs and hospitality up to March 2020 on https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/hs2-ltd-business-expense-travel-costs-and-hospitality-january-to-march-2020 and will be publishing its 2020/21 Quarter One data this month.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who the newly appointed non-executive directors of HS2 are; and what their (a) responsibilities and (b) remuneration packages are.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Secretary of State has appointed Ian King, Elaine Holt and Tom Harris. All non-executive directors are appointed to provide challenge and guidance to the Board, Chair and senior leadership at HS2, though each brings their own specialisms. Ian King has been appointed specifically to represent the government’s interests on the board.
Appointees are remunerated at £950 per day, on an assumption of a time commitment of two days per month.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people applied to become non-executive directors of HS2; and what the process was by which the successful applicants were selected.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Seventy nine people applied to an open and fair competition overseen by Ministers, which was launched in June 2019. Elaine Holt was appointed via this process.
Tom Harris has been directly appointed to his role for a one year term after which an open and fair competition will commence. Ian King has been directly appointed to his role for a three year term, something which is appropriate given his role as a government representative.
All appointments have been made in accordance with the Government’s Governance Code for Public Appointments with the agreement of the Prime Minister and the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Infrastructure and Projects Authority report 2020 classifying HS2 as a Red project, what steps he plans to take in response to that classification; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The IPA’s report refers to the status of the HS2 project in September 2019. This was before the project was comprehensively reset in February 2020 with a revised budget and schedule, and provision of adequate contingency. Steps have also been taken to ensure the project is delivered in a more disciplined and transparent manner with, for example, a dedicated HS2 Minister appointed and bi-annual updates to be provided to Parliament. We are confident HS2 is being delivered with the strict oversight, accountability and transparency needed.