Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 7 November 2017 to Question 110675, whether the announced £300 million of infrastructure spending related to Northern Powerhouse Rail will be devolved directly to Transport for the North.

The £300m of funding announced by my RHF the Chancellor of the Exchequer is the direct costs of making passive provision on HS2 for junctions which would allow HS2 infrastructure to accommodate potential future Northern Powerhouse Rail and Midlands Connect services.

We anticipate that this passive provision would be a matter for Parliamentary approval through the relevant HS2 Hybrid Bill in due course. Responsibility for the design and construction of HS2 lies with HS2 Ltd who will be funded to undertake this work.