Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Final Land Acquisition Boundary process for HS2 has been completed; and when he plans to publish those documents.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Final Land Acquisition Boundary (FLAB) process is a fixed process undertaken over several months to determine and assure each individual land requirement in advance of a notice being served. It is a collaborative process between all key stakeholders including construction partners to review the Land Request requirements, review progress of actions against any known complex issues, and ensure compliance with Undertakings & Assurances and mitigation of risks.
It is an iterative process and will be ongoing as the HS2 programme progresses.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that disabled people have equal access to public transport.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
The Government’s priorities for improving access for disabled people are set out in the Inclusive Transport Strategy (ITS), which aims to address Government’s ambition for disabled people to have the same access to transport as everyone else and to be able to travel confidently, easily and without extra cost.
The strategy included commitments and actions across all modes of transport, on which we are making good progress. Recent delivery progress includes:
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason larger local transport authorities have greater access to funding for disabled bus passes compared to smaller local transport authorities.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Funding for free concessionary pass holders is provided to Local Authorities by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Settlement Funding Assessment which is allocated by His Majesty’s Treasury through a formula that supports a wide range of activities to ensure that each travel concession authority receives the funding that they need.
The funding is not ringfenced, which enables local authorities to make spending decisions that more closely match local needs and circumstances.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has provided guidance to local authorities on whether companies are required to provide notice to local authorities when digging up pathways.
Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)
Highway authorities have a duty to manage their networks effectively by co-ordinating works taking place on their roads under the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 and the Traffic Management Act 2004.
Before planning to carry out works on the highway, which includes the footway, utility companies must seek permission (a permit) from the highway authority and agree how long the works will take. If they take longer than expected, the highway authority can levy penalty charges against the utility. The Government does provide statutory guidance on the operation of permit schemes: www.gov.uk/government/publications/street-works-the-2007-permit-scheme-regulations-as-amended-in-2015
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which areas to the north of Birmingham on the West Coast Mainline will have increased (a) train paths and (b) platforms following the construction of phase two of HS2.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
HS2 will provide high-speed inter-city services on dedicated lines that will free up train paths and platforms on the southern end of the West Coast Main Line, and generate much-needed additional network capacity. The indicative train service assumptions that underpinned the IRP and inform the HS2 and NPR business cases included HS2 services to several destinations on the north end of the West Coast Main Line.
Platform capacity at Crewe will increase as a result of the arrival of HS2 services. There will be 16 platforms in the new station layout, an increase of 4. Some of these will be bay platforms which will remove the conflict of mainline services such as HS2 and regional services, possibly opening up further timetabling options. Works to platforms at Preston and Carlisle are also planned as part of HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg.
No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department plans to update the budget for HS2 to reflect the level of inflation since Q3 2019; and whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to reflect the level of inflation.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Along with the rest of the construction sector and wider economy, HS2 is currently experiencing very high levels of inflation. Following the Autumn Statement we are working through how to manage the impact of inflation and will set out any changes in due course.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to Annex Two to the paper entitled HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg: Crewe to Manchester: An Update on the Strategic Outline Business Case, published by his Department on 24 January 2022, whether the Indicative Train Service Specification has been superseded by an updated version.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Annex Two to the paper entitled HS2 Phase 2b Western Leg: Crewe to Manchester: An Update on the Strategic Outline Business Case, published by this Department on 24 January 2022 provided two indicative train service specifications (iTSS) – a central scenario which assumed that the Golborne Link formed part of the scheme, and an alternative scenario in which the Golborne Link was not constructed. In June 2022, with the removal of the Golborne Link from the High-Speed (Crewe-Manchester) Bill, the alternative scenario as published in January 2022 became the central scenario. There have been no further changes to the iTSS beyond this. An updated iTSS for Northern Powerhouse Rail services will be incorporated in future.
No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the HS2 trains which are going to service (a) Crewe, (b) Macclesfield, (c) Stafford, (d) Liverpool, (e) Edinburgh and (f) Glasgow.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In the indicative train service assumptions that inform the HS2 and NPR business cases, the following HS2 services will call at the stations below, once Phases 1, 2a and the Western Leg to Manchester are operational. No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.
Indicative for Crewe
2 trains per hour from London to Liverpool
1 train per hour from London to Lancaster
2 trains per hour from Manchester to Birmingham (as part of NPR)
Indicative for Macclesfield
1 train per hour terminating from London.
Indicative for Liverpool
2 trains per hour terminating from London.
Indicative for Glasgow
1 train per hour terminating from London
Edinburgh
Based on the current scope in the High Speed Rail (Crewe-Manchester) Bill, following the removal of the Golborne Link, HS2 trains are no longer proposed to serve Edinburgh as part of the Phase 2b Western Leg indicative train service. Following the Union Connectivity Review, the Government is committed to looking again at alternatives which deliver similar benefits as the Golborne Link to Scotland, so long as these deliver for the taxpayer within the £96 billion envelope allocated for the Integrated Rail Plan.
In the meantime, we are getting on with delivering the benefits of HS2 to Manchester by taking the rest of the High Speed Rail (Crewe – Manchester) Bill forwards.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Phase 2 of HS2 will reduce or increase capacity of the West Coast Main Line north of Birmingham.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
HS2 will provide high-speed inter-city services on dedicated lines that will free up train paths and platforms on the West Coast Main Line, and generate much-needed additional network capacity for both passenger and freight services.
The indicative train service assumptions that inform the HS2 and NPR business cases included HS2 services to several destinations on the north end of the West Coast Main Line that may free up conventional rail paths to those destinations. No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.
Asked by: Gavin Williamson (Conservative - South Staffordshire)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what number of HS2 services are planned to (a) arrive at and (b) depart from Stafford station.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
In the indicative train service assumptions that inform the business case, 1 train per hour in each direction will run between London and Macclesfield calling at Stafford, once Phases 1, 2a and the Western Leg to Manchester are operational. No final decisions have been made on the train service that will run when HS2 becomes operational. These decisions will be taken nearer the time, drawing on advice from the West Coast Partnership and Network Rail, and will be subject to public consultation.