Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
Each debate is chaired by an MP from the Panel of Chairs, rather than the Speaker or Deputy Speaker. A Government Minister will give the final speech, and no votes may be called on the debate topic.
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The Minister of State, Department for Transport (Andrew Stephenson)
It is a pleasure to see a former Department for Transport Minister in the Chair. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry) for securing this important debate. I also thank the hon. Members for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell), for Warwick and Leamington (Matt Western) and for Nottingham South (Lilian Greenwood), as well as my hon. Friends the Members for Colne Valley (Jason McCartney) and for Gedling (Tom Randall) for their contributions. An honourable mention goes to the Whip, my hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Maggie Throup), who cannot speak, but I am sure that if she could, she would tell me off and be bending my ear about this exact subject.
Andrew Stephenson
Thank you, Ms Ghani.
I want to reiterate the Government’s commitment to HS2 and to enabling the east midlands, Yorkshire and the north-east to reap the benefits of high-speed rail services.
Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)
I congratulate the hon. Member for Broxtowe (Darren Henry) on securing the debate. The Minister will be aware—he has heard the views expressed this afternoon—that splitting the Bills into two has given rise to concern about potential for delay or worse in respect of HS2 east. My constituents in Leeds, who really want this, for better transport links and for jobs, would be grateful for a specific commitment from the Government, namely, that they intend to proceed with HS2 east—I am backing up what the hon. Member for Broxtowe had to say—to Leeds, at the same time as the western leg to Manchester.
Andrew Stephenson
The right hon. Gentleman makes a good point. The reason why we have talked about doing this in more than one Bill is to speed up the process and deliver the benefits sooner. It was a recommendation that came from the Oakervee review. We acknowledge that the phase 1 Bill was introduced to Parliament in 2013 and did not get Royal Assent until 2017; similarly, the phase 2a Bill was introduced in 2017 and still does not have Royal Assent to this day. Hopefully, the idea of splitting it up is a good idea, put forward by Douglas Oakervee in his review, in order to speed up delivering the benefits of both the eastern and western leg.
Since the announcement of the integrated rail plan in February, I have met local leaders, Members of Parliament and business groups to hear their priorities for major rail investments in the midlands and the north. In all these meetings, regional representatives made it clear how important the potential economic benefits of HS2 are to their local communities. I will therefore address the concerns expressed today and reported in the media about the Government’s commitment to the eastern leg. I will try to respond to all the points raised in the four and a half minutes I have left.
In February, following the Oakervee review, the Prime Minister confirmed that HS2 will go ahead. He also committed us to delivering an integrated rail plan to determine how best to deliver phase 2b alongside our other major rail investments in the midlands and the north. As things stand, communities on the eastern leg will be waiting until 2040 to realise the benefits of HS2. That is clearly too long to wait, which is why our integrated rail plan is working on ways to scope, phase and deliver phase 2b alongside other transformational projects, such as the midlands rail hub and Northern Powerhouse Rail, with a view to not only bringing down costs but delivering the benefits of those major investments as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The integrated rail plan will be informed by a rail needs assessment for the midlands and the north by the independent National Infrastructure Commission. The NIC’s interim report was published in July, and we expect its final report to be published before the end of this year. I am aware that there are concerns about what the NIC is likely to suggest in that report, but as an independent body it is right that it looks at all available evidence when undertaking its assessment. Once the report is published, it will be for Ministers to consider the NIC’s conclusions and make final decisions on the integrated rail plan.
I will briefly mention the western leg of phase 2b, as I know that there have been rumours that the Government have scrapped the eastern leg in favour of focusing on the western leg. I confirm that that is simply not true. I made the point earlier to the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) that the reason behind this was simply in order to smooth the parliamentary passage of the legislation. We think that delivering phase 2b in more than one Bill, subject to what the integrated rail plan says, is a sensible way to move forward. The only reason why the western leg came forward before the eastern leg is that the western leg is shorter than phase 1 or 2a of the eastern leg. The design of Manchester Piccadilly is absolutely crucial for how we deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail, which is the only reason why we have started a design refinement consultation on the western leg rather than on both legs simultaneously.
Kevin Hollinrake (Thirsk and Malton) (Con)
Even across the north, the west is economically better off than the east of the country. Does that not make the case for investment to go to the east of the country first, or at least at the same time as the west?
Andrew Stephenson
As the Prime Minister said, it is not “2b or not 2b”. We have to get on with levelling up across the country. As my hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe said, this is not about east versus west. Many Members here and many stakeholders want to see the full network delivered, as promised for many years. However, we will not know what that will look like until the integrated rail plan is published, which will hopefully be soon.
My hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe makes a compelling case for his constituency, for levelling up and for wider regeneration that could happen around the Toton site. As the Prime Minister recently said, as we build back better from the pandemic, we will be doubling down on levelling up, and HS2 can play a major part in that. While covid-19 has not stopped us from pressing ahead with HS2, it has made levelling up even more important, to help ensure that no part of the country is left behind as we work to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
By improving capacity and connectivity, HS2 will give people better access to jobs and businesses access to larger markets and suppliers. Growing local economies and levelling up the north and the midlands is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve, and for that reason I am happy to confirm that Ministers from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Treasury will be closely involved in drawing up the IRP. We know that it is not only about building a railway but about taking a holistic view of how to capitalise on our investments to help to boost regional economies.
Earlier this year, I had a very useful and informative visit to the proposed site at Toton with my hon. Friend. I also had good discussions with the leader of Nottinghamshire County Council, Kay Cutts, on this issue. I will continue that dialogue. I am more than happy to agree to my hon. Friend’s request for a meeting with him and the all-party parliamentary group. This railway is not just for the short term; it is a long-term investment that will bring our cities closer together. I hope to be able to provide certainty to my hon. Friend as early as possible.
Question put and agreed to.