Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the cost to the (a) freight sector and (b) economy of the time taken to commence work on the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement Scheme.

The previous government had committed to a number of projects that were unfunded, including the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) scheme.

The EACE was assessed as having a Benefit Cost Ratio of 4.89 against a cost estimate of £489m at Outline Business Case stage, at the point the programme was paused by the previous Government in 2022.