Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies on High Speed Two of the National Infrastructure Commission’s Report entitled Better Delivery: the challenge for freight, published in April 2019; whether High Speed Two will deliver the required additional capacity for future growth in freight; and what costed alternatives to High Speed Two his Department assessed to deliver similar future freight capacity.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Government is considering the recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission’s study on the future of freight (Better Delivery: The Challenge for Freight, April 2019) and will respond in due course.
By replacing long distance passenger trains that currently run on the existing railway, HS2 will release spare capacity, particularly on the southern part of the West Coast Main Line. Subject to the outcome of the Oakervee Review and decisions by Government on whether and how to proceed with HS2, DfT expects to publish a Full Business Case which includes an assessment of the implications of HS2 for the freight industry.
Asked by: Joy Morrissey (Conservative - Beaconsfield)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what compensation schemes for Denham residents have been put in place by HS2 Ltd.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government has introduced a range of statutory and non-statutory property compensation schemes across the three phases of the HS2 route to support people and businesses impacted by the programme. Further details on all of the schemes can be found on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/claim-compensation-if-affected-by-hs2.
The schemes were introduced following extensive public consultation and will remain in place until one year after HS2 is operational.
In addition, HS2 Ltd supports local groups through the HS2 Community & Environment Fund and the HS2 Business & Local Economy Fund. This funding aims to add benefit over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation to support communities and local economies along the route that are demonstrably disrupted by the construction of HS2. A total of £40 million is available for projects along the HS2 Phase One route. To date £112,000 has been awarded to projects based in the Beaconsfield constituency, with further funding also awarded to projects working across multiple constituencies in Buckinghamshire.