Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the potential merits of implementing a requirement that UK-based suppliers are formally considered in the procurement of all (a) systems and (b) sub-systems required for the delivery of High Speed 2 Phase 1.

Procurements for HS2 are undertaken in accordance with the Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 that transpose EU Directives on procurement into UK law and reflect the EU procurement principles of transparency, non-discrimination, equal treatment and proportionality. Accordingly, UK based and non-UK based bidders for HS2 contracts will be treated equally.

Nevertheless, HS2’s procurement approach seeks to ensure that UK-based suppliers have the opportunity to bid for and, potentially, win HS2 contracts and sub-contracts. Primary (Tier 1) contractors and their sub-contractors will be required to advertise all sub-contract opportunities using the free access CompeteFor web-sourcing portal.