Asked by: Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of High Speed Two; and what recent assessment he has made of the value for money of that project.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Spending Review 2015 confirmed a funding envelope for the whole of HS2 of £55.7bn at 2015 prices. DfT remains determined that the project will be delivered within the £55.7bn funding envelope.
The benefit-cost ratio for the HS2 network as a whole, including wider economic impacts, suggests that for every £1 invested the UK will receive £2.30 of benefits.
Asked by: Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using the budget allocated to High Speed Two to instead invest in (a) regional transport infrastructure projects, (b) upgrading existing rail lines and (c) reducing government expenditure.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Record investment is taking place in Control Period 6 with around £48 billion to be spent on the existing rail network over a five-year period from 2019 to 2024, including more maintenance and a huge uplift in renewals to increase reliability and punctuality for passengers. Together with new and refurbished trains, this Government is delivering an ambitious programme on rail.
In addition, HS2 will deliver more than £2 of benefits for every £1 of investment. HS2 will release capacity on existing railway lines so enabling new or additional services to be provided on those lines.
Asked by: Craig Tracey (Conservative - North Warwickshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK citizens travelling in the EU will be able to benefit from the Green Card system as the UK leaves the EU.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The United Kingdom's membership of the Green Card system predates our membership of the European Union and is not at risk from withdrawal. Maintaining our current vehicular access to the EU without Green Card checks after we leave is one of a number of issues that will need to be addressed through negotiations. The Government made clear in its White Paper on EU withdrawal that our focus in negotiations will be on ensuring new barriers do not arise from our exit.