Asked by: Rachel Taylor (Labour - North Warwickshire and Bedworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 27 November 2024 to Question 15335 on High Speed 2 Line: Complaints, how HS2 Ltd differentiates between enquiries and complaints; and how enquiries are escalated to complaints.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There is a dedicated HS2 Helpdesk which is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, to help with any questions or concerns anyone may have about HS2 or work being carried out. It is available via freephone, email, minicom and through the HS2 website. HS2’s Helpdesk team receive, log and track enquiries and complaints through to resolution.
HS2 Ltd defines an enquiry as a question or a request for information about the project, whereas a complaint is where a stakeholder is unhappy about anything HS2 Ltd does, or about anything another company does on their behalf. If a stakeholder makes an enquiry but is unhappy with the outcome, they can request that it is treated as a complaint by contacting the HS2 Helpdesk. If the complaint needs immediate attention (for instance, if it involves a risk to safety, HS2 will always deal with it straight away. In any case, an acknowledgement of the complaint will be issued within two working days of receiving it and HS2 Ltd aim to provide a substantive response within 20 working days.
HS2 Ltd’s complaints process which includes independent reviews from the HS2 Construction Commissioner, DfT Independent Complaints Assessors and the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO). The full details of the HS2 complaints process are publicly available at https://www.hs2.org.uk/contact-us/how-to-complain/.
Asked by: Rachel Taylor (Labour - North Warwickshire and Bedworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will take steps to ensure that complaints about ongoing HS2 works are dealt with effectively.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
HS2 Ltd is committed to proactively communicating with communities impacted by the construction of the new railway, to keep them informed about disruptive works and to respond promptly and respectfully to concerns raised by members of the public.
HS2 Ltd has put in place a freephone helpdesk, which is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and has a longstanding commitment to respond to all enquiries and complaints within 20 working days and to respond to all urgent enquiries and complaints within 2 working days.
This year so far (April to September 2024), HS2 Ltd received 17938 enquires and 576 complaints, and has maintained its performance with 100% of urgent complaints resolved within two working days, and 95% of all other complaints responded to within 20 working days or less.
Asked by: Rachel Taylor (Labour - North Warwickshire and Bedworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to mitigate (a) noise, (b) dust and (c) traffic disruption relating to HS2 works.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Secretary of State is committed to mitigating the environmental effects of the construction of HS2 and binding Environmental Minimum Requirements (EMRs) are in place that HS2 Ltd and its contractors must follow to limit the impacts of noise, dust and traffic impacts as far as reasonably practicable. The EMRs include a code of construction practice, which sets out a range of control measures, which shall be applied throughout the construction period to ensure effective planning and management is in place to minimise the potential impacts of construction upon communities, businesses and the natural and historic environment.
A copy of the code of construction practice is available here:
HS2 Ltd also provides a responsive community engagement operation which ensures that residents have quick and simple routes to raise concerns if they feel that the effects of construction are not being managed as they should be, including a 24-hour helpdesk, and quick turnaround times for addressing complaints and queries. The HS2 Construction Commissioner can also intervene if construction issues are not being properly resolved through the HS2 complaints process.