Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many houses in Lichfield constituency have been purchased by (a) the High Speed 2 Exceptional Hardship Scheme and (b) other related schemes since each such scheme was launched; and what the average cost has been of purchases under each such scheme.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The number and average value of houses purchased in the Lichfield constituency broken down by HS2 scheme/arrangement is as follows.
Scheme/Arrangement | Number of properties purchased | Average value of each purchase |
Exceptional Hardship Scheme* | 12 | £549,235 |
Need to Sell | 5 | £550,500 |
Voluntary Purchase | 2 | £406,625 |
Statutory Blight | 11 | £829,636 |
Atypical arrangements | 1 | £406,625 |
*In May 2016 the Exceptional Hardship Scheme was withdrawn for the Phase 2a section of HS2 when the Need to Sell scheme was confirmed for this part of the route
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 24 January 2017 to Question 60205, when he expects Pendolino trains to (a) reach the end of their serviceable life and (b) be withdrawn from service on the West Coast Mainline.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Class 390 “Pendolino” trains are owned by Angel Trains Limited and currently leased to West Coast Trains Limited, the operator of the West Coast franchise. It is a matter for the owner to determine the serviceable life of the train and to market them as necessary to meet the fleet strategy of future operators.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has for the replacement of Pendolino trains with trains of at least equal speed on the West Coast Mainline when Pendolino trains come to the end of their serviceable life.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
There are no current plans to replace Pendolinos. It will be for the operator of the West Coast Partnership franchise, which will begin in April 2019, to decide their future fleet strategy on the classic network.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress there has been on providing disabled access to all three platforms at Lichfield Trent Valley railway station; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Further to my Hon Friend, the then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport’s (Claire Perry) response of 27 June 2016 (UIN 40101), consultation on the Hendy report recommendations is now complete and the responses have been analysed. We have worked with Network Rail to develop a proposal for consideration and this is currently going through internal finance and legal clearance, and I hope to make an announcement shortly. Lichfield Trent Valley is currently going through option selection before a detailed design is prepared.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the High Speed Rail Committee's recommendations on ecology in its report of March 2016, Government overview of the case for High Speed 2 Phase One and its environmental impacts, what the reasons are for the time taken for Natural England to publish its report into the net loss of biodiversity measurements; and when he expects that report to be published.
Answered by Andrew Jones
No net loss of biodiversity is a complex and important issue. It is, therefore, correct that Natural England takes the time necessary to produce a thorough independent review for Government and that the Government takes the time to make a considered response. We hope to publish both Natural England’s review and the Government’s report before the end of the HS2 Select Committee in the Lords.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he expects work to commence on providing disabled access to all platforms at Lichfield Trent Valley railway station in response to his Department's review of the Access for all programme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Claire Perry
We are working with Network Rail to identify how Access for All projects will be delivered and we will be responding to the Hendy Report later this year. The majority of projects should still be delivered by 2019 or have a design completed so that they can start work on site as soon as available funding allows. Option selection and design work for the project at Lichfield Trent Valley is ongoing.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the total expenditure by HS2 to date; and how much has been spent on (a) land, (b) property, (c) compensation and (d) salaries.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
Under the Government’s commitment to transparency, the data that is recorded by departments for projects such as HS2 in its Major Projects Portfolio is published by departments alongside the publication of the Annual Report of the Infrastructure & Projects Authority. This data includes financial statistics such as whole life costs of each project as well as total in-year budget, forecast spend and variance. This information is available from GOV.UK.
Since 2009/10 the Government has spent £1.4bn on the HS2 programme. This includes the costs incurred by HS2 Ltd and Land & Property expenditure. In relation to (a), (b) and (c), as of March 2016, £434.4m has been spent on land and property with a further £11.2m in compensation payments associated with the statutory blight regime. Please note that 2015/16 figures have not been audited yet.
With regards to (d), the information on HS2 Ltd salaries is published in the company’s Annual Accounts, which are available from Gov.UK. As of March 2016, the total salaries for HS2 Ltd stand at £80.4m.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the likely effect on (a) passenger and (b) freight traffic on the West Coast Mainline following completion of Phase 1 of High Speed 2; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
The construction of High Speed 2 (HS2) will release capacity on the existing network, including the West Coast Mainline, reducing crowding, improving resilience and reliability across the network, and improving journey opportunities for passengers. This released capacity could also provide space for at least an extra 20 West Coast Main Line freight paths helping to meet forecast freight demand and taking lorries off the road network. Phase One of HS2 will also bring substantial benefits in its own right, providing additional capacity and improved connectivity.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funds will be made available for protection against terrorist attacks on High Speed 2.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
In designing HS2, HS2 Ltd is aiming to be exemplary in addressing security issues and, as designs develop, it will be in discussions with Departmental transport security officials to ensure that it complies with their requirements. At this stage of the project’s design, within the overall costs, there is not a separate funding line specifically for security.
Asked by: Michael Fabricant (Conservative - Lichfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will encourage the operators of the M6 toll, the Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, the Severn Bridge, and other electronic toll roads to use a common tag system.
Answered by John Hayes
The Severn Bridge and the M6 Toll both have their own tag systems for paying tolls. The Dartford-Thurrock river crossing, however, will no longer use tags for payment from 30 November when the new payment arrangements, known as Dart Charge, will be introduced.
The European Commission is working on toll payment interoperability, and the Severn Bridge and M6 Toll are compliant with related legally defined technical standards. We are broadly supportive of such interoperability for tolled crossings where this makes sense for road users, but these should not put additional costs on other road users who will not benefit from interoperability.