Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the change to the overall cost of building the Birmingham to Crewe section of HS2 which will result from the proposed delay to building this section.

The Department is transparent on cost pressures and publishes six-monthly parliamentary reports on HS2, providing progress updates on the programme. It will take some time to fully understand the impact of the 9 March announcement on HS2 and we are using this time to invest in more mature designs and delivery approaches with a view to ensuring the programme is delivered in the most cost-effective way and protecting the Government’s commitment to delivering HS2 from Euston to Manchester.