High Speed Rail (West Midlands-Crewe) Bill

Lord Bhatia Excerpts

Monday 14th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bhatia (Non-Afl) [V]]

The High Speed Rail (West Midlands–Crewe) Bill will provide approval for phase 2a of the HS2 rail line. Phase 2a will run between the West Midlands, where it will link with phase 1 in Crewe. The Bill began its Committee stage in the House of Lords on 9 November 2020. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, the noble Baroness, Lady Vere of Norbiton, outlined the main features of the phase 2a scheme. She argued that it struck an appropriate balance between protecting the environment and giving value for money to the taxpayer.

The shadow Minister for transport, the noble Lord, Lord Tunnicliffe, said that Labour had initiated the HS2 project and still supported both HS2 and the Bill. However, he said that the railway should be built as a network rather than a statement of infrastructure. He also called for an improved scheme of compensation for those affected by the line. The Lib Dems also supported the Bill.

The NAO reported in January 2020 that the Government had not fully and openly recognised the programme’s risks from the outset, and hence had not adequately managed the risks to value for money. Such large projects have always carried risks of being over budget and timeframes. The most important thing to remember is that such a large infrastructure project gives work for many people, bearing in mind the present pandemic, which has created a big number of redundancies in many industries.

Is there any estimate of compensation that will have to be paid to those home owners whose homes have had to be destroyed?

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Morris of Bolton) (Con)]

The noble Lord, Lord Liddle, has withdrawn, so I now call the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb.