Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much HS2 Ltd has paid to date for costs incurred by (a) Thames Valley Police and (b) other police force in providing the extra policing of HS2 works.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
HS2 ltd has paid no costs to Thames Valley or to any other police forces for extra policing costs as result of HS2 works.
HS2 Ltd has an Enhanced Police Service Agreement (EPSA) with the British Transport Police for a National Police Liaison Officer, an Analyst and an Intelligence Researcher. This function supports strategic and tactical coordination across all forces that the route will pass through. The costs for the EPSA so far are as follows:
· 2016/17: £31,261.26
· 2017/18: £100,185.95
· 2018/19: £104,803.18
· 2019/20: £125,782
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what bonus the CEO of HS2 Ltd is due to receive for the current year of their contract; and what the criteria are for receipt of that bonus.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The HS2 Ltd CEO has voluntarily agreed to waive any bonus payment entitled to be paid to him this year.
The criteria for receipt of the bonus, had it not been voluntarily waived, focused on five key areas of performance in 2019/20: health, safety and wellbeing; annual control of budget; performance against annual milestones and schedule; organisational capability including talent and diversity; and community engagement. These areas of performance will still be reported on as usual, in the company’s Annual Report and Accounts.
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 publish the licence that permitted HS2 to remove parts of the hedgerows in Chalfont St Giles; and what impact assessment was made of the effect of that removal on the bird nesting season in that area.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017, which underwent several years of parliamentary scrutiny, gives HS2 Ltd the authority to remove hedgerows for the construction of Phase One of HS2. Therefore no licences were required for the removal of part of the hedgerows in Chalfont St Giles.
The Environmental Statement for Phase One of HS2, which was published alongside the Bill, reported the results of the environmental impact assessment, including impacts on hedgerows. Where habitat clearance works need to be conducted during the nesting season, an Ecological Clerk of Works is present to identify nesting birds and stop works if necessary. If an active bird nest is found, works cease in that area and an exclusion zone is set up around the specific location to avoid disturbance that could cause adults to abandon the nest. This restriction remains in place until any chicks have fledged. This approach follows industry standard best practice.
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 he publish the (a) annual salaries and (b) bonuses paid to HS2 Ltd personnel in the last 12 months.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with the Government’s policy on transparency, HS2 Ltd publishes details of salaries and director remuneration in the company’s Annual Report and Accounts and, where applicable, on the Cabinet Office website. The next report, which covers 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, will be available by the end of July 2020. Previous reports, dating back to the 2009-10 financial year, are available on the gov.uk website here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hs2-annual-reports-and-accounts#annual-reports-and-accounts
In the last 12 months the following bonus payments were made to three individuals that achieved agreed performance criteria in the 2018/19 financial year: £36,743; £24,710 and £15,975.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of attaching nameplates to the HS2 tunnel boring machines being manufactured in Germany.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
There is no additional cost associated with applying names to the Tunnel Boring Machines (‘TBMs’) as the cost for applying branding is included in the manufacturing costs for the machines. Once chosen by the public, names of the TBMs will be added to the side of each machine using transfers, not attached nameplates, similar to the standard branding seen on TBMs around the world.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost of holding a public vote on naming the HS2 tunnelling machines.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The public vote has been implemented and managed entirely in-house by HS2 Ltd staff utilising existing resources so there is no disaggregated cost.
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 the Office for Budget Responsibility's 14 April 2020 finding that GDP could fall by 35 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, whether his Department has made an assessment of the economic effect of the covid-19 outbreak on levels of demand for railway travel.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
This crisis will have a long-lasting impact on our society – but it is too early to predict what that may mean in practice. There are a number of factors that will determine the demand for rail travel, including when lockdown restrictions are lifted, the nature of social distancing guidelines put in place going forward, and how people’s attitudes towards rail travel may have changed.
In the short term, we have stabilised the industry to ensure essential services are still running, and goods and rail passengers can get where they are needed most.
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 suspend all HS2 (a) preparation and (b) construction work during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government’s current policy is that construction activity, including HS2, should continue where it can be undertaken in accordance with the Public Health England guidance and industry best practice. I have asked HS2 Ltd to work closely with their construction partners to ensure compliance with these guidelines in order to protect local communities and their workforce. Sites will not operate where this cannot be achieved.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the construction costs of HS2; and if he will he make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is getting on with HS2 where this can be done in a way that protects local communities and workers. Whilst important work continues in line with the safety guidance, there will inevitably be an impact on progress. HS2 Ltd is currently working with its suppliers to assess this and we will update Parliament on the impact on schedule and cost in due course once the restrictions have been lifted and the impact can be properly assessed. The current schedule and cost estimates contain contingency to address these impacts.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the construction timetable for HS2 phase one.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government is getting on with HS2 where this can be done in a way that protects local communities and workers. Whilst important work continues in line with the safety guidance, there will inevitably be an impact on progress. HS2 Ltd is currently working with its suppliers to assess this and we will update Parliament on the impact on schedule and cost in due course once the restrictions have been lifted and the impact can be properly assessed. The current schedule and cost estimates contain contingency to address these impacts.