Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the current budget is for bringing High Speed 2 into Euston; and what proportion of this cost is accounted for by (a) tunnelling from Old Oak Common to the Euston Portal, (b) construction works in the Camden Cutting, (c) Phases A and B1 of the new station at Euston, (d) land acquisition costs, including any land transferred between public authorities and (e) mitigation measures and compensation.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).
The new proposals for a phased approach to Euston station will be delivered within the existing budget for Phase One of HS2 of £21.4bn. Within this overall budget the estimated construction costs of our latest plan for Euston is £2.25bn.
It is not appropriate to provide a breakdown of the construction costs below this figure as this information is commercially sensitive and would compromise the forthcoming procurement process for these works.
We will continue to work with our contractors and the rail industry to find the most cost efficient way of delivering the project.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will ensure that public land required by HS2 Ltd only during the construction phase will be returned to the relevant local authority for reprovison for community facilities.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Virtually all the land compulsorily acquired for HS2 will be used permanently for the construction and operation of the new railway. Where land compulsorily acquired becomes surplus to requirements, in accordance with the Crichel Down Rules and subject to key Guiding Principles set out in the High Speed Two Information Paper - C6: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LAND, landowners may be offered the opportunity to buy back land, at market value. The future use of land returned to local authorities would therefore be a matter for them to decide.
High Speed Two Information Paper C6: DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS LAND attached.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when funds will be made available to enable the eastern section of the station at Euston to be redeveloped; and if he will ensure that this is developed as a level-deck station with platforms at the same levels as those for High Speed 2.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).
The redevelopment of the existing station (Stage B2) will be subject to separate planning and funding decisions that will be made at an appropriate point in the process. Network Rail is preparing plans for the feasibility work of this redevelopment which will be submitted as part of its Control Period 6 (CP6) submission (which covers the period 2019-2024). These plans will consider the impacts of all options for station redevelopment including level-deck and split-level concourses and will include an assessment of the effects of this redevelopment, including the potential effects on local residents, businesses and rail users. The process will start with the Initial Industry Plan which is anticipated to be published in September 2016.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 31 of the report by the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee entitled The economics of HS2, published on 25 March 2015, what steps the Government has taken to estimate the overall reduction of cost to High Speed 2 of terminating the line at Old Oak Common, including any necessary redesign of the station at Old Oak Common to make this possible and calculate the effect on the project's cost benefit analysis.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Terminating at Old Oak Common as an option was sifted out early in the decision making process for the London terminus given the weakness of the option, particularly in relation to its limited connectivity benefits. For this reason, the Government is not considering the option in any further detail and does not have cost estimates on a basis which would enable comparison with the preferred Euston terminus option. Euston is the best location for city centre connectivity and has the best onward transport connections to disperse passengers across London and it already has great London Underground connections on the Victoria and Northern lines and the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines from Euston Square. The only way for onward travel from an Old Oak Common terminus would be Crossrail – any service interruption to Crossrail would potentially result in having to close HS2 as passengers would have no adequate alternative onward connection option. A Euston terminus is also essential for releasing capacity on the West Coast Mainline which is effectively full in terms of train paths.
In addition to not meeting our programme objectives, a terminus at Old Oak Common would still incur a number of significant costs. These include:
Finally, it is worth noting that a very substantial part of the cost of the HS2 scheme at Euston is for Underground and other interchange facilities. These works will be necessary at some stage to serve the growing passenger demand at Euston that would occur irrespective of HS2.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the feasibility of redeveloping the eastern side of Euston station at a level deck with the High Speed 2 once HS2 Ltd has reduced the number of classic platforms by five in construction stage B1; and what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) local residents and businesses and (b) existing rail users of treating this project as a separate scheme from the construction of the High Speed 2 station at Euston.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1). By concentrating on certain locations at a time, disruption to the area as a whole at any one time will be reduced and easier to mitigate. Construction of the hybrid Bill proposal would have meant a far more intense period of disruption for the community. In the Euston area, as with all affected areas, we will continue to look for ways to reduce the level of disruption through further design development.
The incremental strategy does not preclude wider redevelopment of the station in the future (Stage B2). This will be subject to separate planning and funding decisions that will be made at an appropriate part in the process. Network Rail is preparing plans for the feasibility work of this redevelopment which will be submitted as part of its Control Period 6 (CP6) submission (which covers the period 2019-2024). These plans will include an assessment of the effects of this redevelopment, including the potential effects on local residents, businesses and rail users.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reasons HS2 Ltd plans to commence utility diversion and other advance works on construction compounds in July 2016 in advance of the likely date of Royal Assent for the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 received Royal Assent inNovember 2013 and authorises the Secretary of State, with Treasury approval, to incur expenditure in preparation for a high speed railway transport network. Construction work will commence in 2017, with some enabling works planned for 2016, subject to necessary consents.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what account he took of (a) the extended timetable of work on High Speed 2 and the increased intensity of such work compared to the original plan, (b) potential additional blight caused by rebuilding Euston station in phase B2, (c) potential additional blight caused by the construction of Crossrail 2 and (d) development work at Euston station now integral to High Speed 2 in deciding appropriate compensation to people in (i) the London Borough of Camden and (ii) other parts of London affected by High Speed 2 and Additional Provision 3.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
HS2 Ltd deposited an Additional Provision (AP3) to the HS2 Phase One hybrid Bill on 16 September 2015 which includes revised plans for London Euston station. The new plans focus on an incremental strategy which will deliver new high speed platforms (Stages A and B1) and do not preclude wider redevelopment of the existing station in the future (Stage B2).
By concentrating construction on certain locations at a time, disruption to the area as a whole at any one time will be reduced and easier to mitigate. Construction of the original hybrid Bill proposal would have meant a far more intense period of disruption for the community.
In the Euston area, as with all affected areas, we will continue to look for ways to further reduce the level of disruption as part of the design development process.
The government’s proposals for statutory and discretionary compensation for the whole of the Phase One route were announced in the “HS2 property compensation consultation 2013 for the London to West Midlands route: decision document”, published 9 April 2014 and also the “Decision Document: Property Consultation 2014 for the London–West Midlands HS2 Route”, published 16 January 2015.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the childhood literacy rate was in (a) Holborn and St Pancras constituency, (b) the London Borough of Camden, (c) London and (d) England in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Nick Gibb
The Department for Education does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential effect of Crossrail development on existing retailers and traders in Tin Pan Alley, Denmark Street.
Answered by Claire Perry
Crossrail’s development is not impacting on existing retailers and traders in Tin Pan Alley. The site the Hon Member refers to is owned by another developer, Consolidated Developments. The buildings on Denmark Street are not required by Crossrail or London Underground for the upgrade of Tottenham Court Road station. Consolidated Developments acquired the site in 1996 and planning permission was granted by the London Borough of Camden in November 2013. Whilst the development site is situated adjacent to the London Underground / Crossrail worksite, the proposed development itself is a private venture and entirely separate from the Crossrail works.
Crossrail, in conjunction with TfL and Camden and Westminster Councils, is working to improve the urban realm around the eastern end of Oxford Circus. This includes a new piazza at St Giles Square that will re-establish the historic links between Oxford Street and Covent Garden as well as making it easier and safer for pedestrians to move into Dean Street and Soho Square. Crossrail is also bringing the first new West End theatre in over a decade to Soho and recently announced they have gained private sponsorship for the project’s art programme at Tottenham Court Road.
Asked by: Keir Starmer (Labour - Holborn and St Pancras)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to introduce victim awareness training for lawyers in accordance with Article 25 of Directive 2012/29/EU.
Answered by Mike Penning
The proper treatment of vulnerable victims and witnesses is a priority for the Government.
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, criminal justice service providers are required to treat victims in a respectful, sensitive and professional manner without discrimination of any kind. It also requires service providers to communicate with victims in simple and accessible language, taking appropriate measures where possible to assist victims to understand and be understood.
The Ministry of Justice is working with the legal professions to devise a requirement that all publicly-funded advocates in sexual offences cases must undertake specialist training on working with vulnerable victims and witnesses. A report of the review of ways to reduce distress that some victims suffer from cross-examination in trials of sexual violence was published in March 2014 on the government website and is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/report-on-review-of-ways-to-reduce-distress-of-victims-in-trials-of-sexual-violence. The requirement was a recommendation from the review and is intended to change attitudes and behaviours of advocates by equipping them with knowledge and skills for dealing with children and vulnerable people in trials of such offences. The Legal Aid Agency will implement this requirement in due course, and only those advocates who have done the training will be able to be instructed in and undertake serious sexual offences cases.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a wide range of training on victim awareness for its lawyers. The CPS has developed a number of online e-Learning courses which specifically relate to victims. These are: The Victims’ Code; Victim Personal Statements; Supporting Vulnerable Victims and Witnesses; The Prosecutors’ Pledge; and Special Measures.
The CPS has also recently consulted publicly on the draft guidance on prosecutors speaking to victims and witnesses at court, and training is being designed to underpin that guidance once it is finalised.