High Speed 2 Reset

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What are the new project cost figures include? Are they inclusive of all rolling stock under the new plans, Euston funding, and signalling costs? Will the Government set out precise funding and delivery timetables for each element?

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What steps has HS2 Ltd taken to improve claims settlement with those impacted by construction?

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Is it appropriate for services on the west coast to be reduced following Government requests, given the current focus on HS2?

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Asked for clarification on cost reductions, including specifics about rolling stock funding and signalling. Also questioned the impact of service cuts on Avanti West Coast.

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Asked about measures to ensure future transport projects like the lower Thames crossing and Northern Powerhouse Rail do not suffer similar issues.

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The hon. Gentleman thanked the Secretary of State for her candour on HS2's issues and supported her approach focusing on proven technology rather than futuristic innovations. He asked if she is confident that her expert panel has the specific high-speed rail construction and commissioning skills needed to turn the situation around.

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The hon. Gentleman expressed concern about job losses and economic impacts in Crewe due to HS2 cancellation and asked if the Secretary of State would commit to looking more urgently at how they can address capacity constraints between Birmingham and Crewe, and engage with Cheshire East Council.

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The hon. Gentleman expressed anger about HS2 and highlighted issues such as landowner payments not being made, road damage, unfixed mitigation projects, and noise impacts in Wendover above WHO limits due to trains at 320 kph.

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The hon. Gentleman raised concerns about the delay in HS2 works north of Curzon Street, the impact on Lichfield with the closure of A38, and frustration among his constituents regarding noise and disruption over 17 years.

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The right hon. and learned Member suggested a feasibility study for expanding HS2's network, focusing on improving connections across the country beyond London-Birmingham.

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The right hon. Member asked for a meeting to discuss opportunities to assist Hillingdon Outdoor Activities Centre, which lost access to its lake due to HS2.

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My constituents did not want HS2, and they have been putting up with the disruption of construction for years. Some warned it would be a colossal waste of money; this railway is costing nearly £1 billion per mile. Every pound of cost overrun is a pound not spent on local infrastructure. Given the Department’s failure to hold HS2 Ltd to account, what commitment can you give that we will not have overspend issues in a few years?

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My Chesterfield constituents once hoped to benefit from HS2 but now feel disappointed as the line only goes to Birmingham instead of Manchester and Leeds. With your commitment to getting a grip on costs, can we reopen discussions about extending the line beyond Birmingham?

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If you decide to scrap HS2 soon due to overspend, I would support it. What assurances can you offer on providing better services to residents, land claims, and road destruction in Beaconsfield, Marlow, and south Bucks villages?

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HS2 overspend is £1,000 per household in UK; families struggle to pay bills. HS2 was meant to bring benefits to north of England and Scotland—reliable services, passenger capacity, economic growth, reduced emissions by displacing flights. Will you meet me to discuss long-term plan for improving rail services between Scotland, north England, and rest of the UK?

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Can you explain when HS2 will extend to Scotland as suggested by the Transport Committee Chair? How much more will we in Scotland pay, and how many years after 2043 will it be delivered?

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I welcome the clarity to deliver HS2, which is vital for rail investment driving growth. Will you look at driving growth between towns as well as cities by bringing lines such as Calder Valley line into 21st century?

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Communities in Balsall Common and Berkswell have taken huge pain since before 2019. I take heart from Mark Wild’s engagement on land issues, including Arden Cross project worth hundreds of millions that might take four years but could be done in two. Will you look at this issue?

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Residents in Old Oak Common welcome honesty about HS2 but are disappointed by the ever-lengthening timeline. Will you consider opening Elizabeth line station earlier, as new builds like Oaklands Rise were promised a brand-new station by 2026?

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Many farmers, small businesses and residents have had access to their properties disrupted by the construction of HS2. The Wilcoxes in my constituency have been battling for more than five years to get a simple deed of easement. Will the Secretary of State set out what steps she is taking to ensure that these deeds of easement are entered into without further delay?

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Wales is footing the bill for HS2, a project based entirely in England now costing up to £103 billion. Wales has no Barnett consequentials while Scotland and Northern Ireland do. Will the Secretary of State respect the wishes of people in Wales and be open to talks with the Welsh Government on reclassifying HS2 so that Wales does not pay for it or gets its fair share?

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Having seen a procession of Ministers and officials give reassurances about HS2, will the Secretary of State assure us that spending on HS2 will not affect the announcement she made a few weeks ago to improve other rail services in the north? I also mention the campaign by me and the Father of the House to improve services to northern Lincolnshire.

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Before being elected to this place, I was a member of the independent panel for the community and environment fund and the business and local economy fund for HS2. Communities get grumpy when large-scale infrastructure projects affect them but there is no obvious benefit. What assurance can the Secretary of State give the House that she is looking at what can be learned positively from what has happened with HS2, and in particular at how we can strengthen and make clearer the link between community benefit and large-scale infrastructure projects when the immediate benefit is not obvious to those communities?

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It is outrageous to hear about the waste with money thrown away by successive Governments. Even now, the level of money required to reset HS2 grates on people up in Yorkshire and the north, where the northern legs were cancelled. We also get comparatively less funding per head for transport than counterparts in the south. Does she agree that the small amount of money to be saved from reducing the scope and speed would be better spent on schemes such as Northern Powerhouse Rail and reinstating the York area capacity scheme?

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The truth of the matter is that despite spending over £103 billion of taxpayers’ money, my son has laid more rail track from his Lego set than the previous Government did under the HS2 programme. Whistleblowers have alleged that costs were deliberately hidden from Parliament, documents were shredded and staff who spoke out were sacked. Before another penny is spent by the British taxpayer, how will the Secretary of State ensure that in the future there are accountable binding mechanisms to stop contractors and executives from misleading the House again?

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I thank the Secretary of State for reeling off a list of depressing dates in the far future, leading all but the youngest of us to contemplate our mortality. What is also depressing is the serious lack of investment in rail infrastructure in the north-west north of Manchester; it is an ongoing issue. Will she seek to put that right by being creative with use of the existing main line? For instance, will she work with Network Rail, me and Westmorland and Furness council to advance the cause for reopening stations such as Shap and Tebay?

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I thank the Minister for delivering this really important update in the House, rather than at party conference as the previous Tory Prime Minister did. What has really struck me about this statement is that the cost of HS2 is now measured in the hundreds of billions, but what we are spending on active travel is measured in the hundreds of millions. Will she reflect on the differential between how much is being spent on active travel and this project?

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I thank the Secretary of State for her statement, for her positivity and for trying to make matters better. She talked about maximising international standards and reshaping governance to find efficiencies, yet my constituents in Northern Ireland are facing critical infrastructure deficits of their own. If the fundamental reset is truly about driving economic growth and maximising value across the United Kingdom, will the Secretary of State please, very genuinely, explicitly outline how the billions clawed back from streamlining HS2 will be used to support Union connectivity?