Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2017 to Question 114943, whether his Department has set a target for the proportion of resources manufactured in the UK that will be used to construct High Speed 2.

As referred to in the response to Question 114943, HS2 Ltd has made it a priority to engage with British firms through trade associations and business networks so that they are ready to compete for the opportunities offered by HS2 as part of an open, fair and transparent procurement process, which will deliver best value for money for the taxpayer.

The current HS2 Tier 1 supply chain is comprised of 1,498 suppliers, of which 98 per cent are UK suppliers (based on postcode of registered address) and 69 per cent are small and medium size enterprise suppliers (based on turnover). A significant component in High Speed 2 construction will be that of steel. The Secretary of State has said that he expects to match the existing record of 95 per cent of steel in rail being UK steel.