Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Second Report of the Transport Committee entitled The Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands, published on 27 July 2022, if he will publish an updated benefit-cost ratio for the (a) full HS2 project and (b) proposals for the Eastern leg of HS2 Phase 2b by March 2023; and if he will take steps to ensure that HS2 benefit-cost ratios take into account impacts on regional inequalities.

The latest assessment of the BCR for Phases One, 2a and 2b (Crewe to Manchester) of the HS2 network was published in June 2022. This assessment concluded that the scheme delivers positive value for money to the taxpayer with a BCR above 1.

The Government intends to provide a full response to the Transport Select Committee’s report by March 2023 and to continue providing updated economic assessments of HS2 at key decision points for the programme, as it has done to date.