Report, oral and written evidence | Press Notice | Government Response

Oral evidence

Thursday 4 December 2008

Witnesses: Robert Chote, Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Roger Bootle, Managing Director Capital Economics, Simon Kirby, Research Fellow, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, Professor Colin Talbot, Professor of Public Policy and Management, Manchester Business School, and John Whiting, PwC and Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG); Mike Brewer, Director, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Teresa Perchard, Director of Public Policy, Citizens Advice, Mervyn Kohler, Head of Public Affairs, Help the Aged, Peter Kenway, Director, New Policy Institute, and John Whiting, PwC and Low Incomes Tax Reform Group.

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Witnesses: Dave Ramsden, Managing Director, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Policy, James Richardson, Director, Public Spending, Edward Troup, Director, Business and Indirect Tax, Mike Williams, Director Personal Tax and Welfare Reform, and Clive Maxwell, Director, Financial Services, HM
Treasury.

Wednesday 10 December 2008

Witnesses: Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Dave Ramsden, Managing Director, Macroeconomics and Fiscal Policy, and Mark Bowman, Director, Tax Strategy and Delivery, HM Treasury.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will name the accounting officers, officials and ministers with responsibility for HS2 from 2015 to present.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Within the Department for Transport, the Permanent Secretaries and Principal Accounting Officers with responsibility for High Speed Two (HS2) from 2015 to present are Philip Rutnam and Bernadette Kelly. The Directors General and Senior Responsible Owners for the project during that time period are David Prout, Michael Hurn (acting), Clive Maxwell, and Alan Over.

With respect to ministers, the Secretaries of State for Transport since 2015 bore ultimate ministerial responsibility for the project. In chronological order, they have been Patrick McLoughlin, Christopher Grayling, Grant Shapps, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Mark Harper, Louise Haigh, and Heidi Alexander.

Under the Secretary of State for Transport, various ministers have shared ministerial responsibility for HS2 within the Department since 2015. In chronological order, they have been Robert Goodwill, Paul Maynard, Nusrat Ghani, Andrew Stephenson, Trudy Harrison, Kevin Foster, Huw Merriman, and Lord Peter Hendy.

Within HS2 Ltd, individuals holding Chief Executive Officer and Accounting Officer responsibilities since 2015 have been, in chronological order, Simon Kirby, Roy Hill, Mark Thurston, Sir Jon Thompson, Alan Foster, and Mark Wild.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government who were the accounting officers responsible for HS2 at (1) the Department for Transport, and (2) HS2 Ltd, for the period from 1 January 2009 to the present.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

The Accounting Officers at the Department for Transport and Chief Executives at HS2 Ltd from 1 January 2009 to the present are as follows:

HS2 Ltd

• Alison Munro CBE (January 2009 – September 2014)
• Simon Kirby (September 2014 – December 2016)
• Roy Hill (December 2016 – March 2017)
• Mark Thurston (March 2017 – September 2023)
• Sir Jonathan Thompson (September 2023 - Present)

DfT

• Sir Robert Devereux KCB (2007 - December 2011)
• Dame Linda Margaret Homer DCB (December 2011 – March 2012)
• Sir Philip McDougall Rutnam KCB (March 2012 – April 2017)
• Dame Bernadette Kelly DCB (April 2017 – Present)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government who were the accounting officers for HS2 and the Department for Transport in (1) March 2014, (2) January 2016, (3) April 2016, and (4) July 2019; when they were made aware of allegations of deceptions and fraud as reported in the Sunday Times on 22 October; and on which dates and to whom in Government they reported any concerns about cost overrun.

Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton

The Accounting Officers at HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport were as follows:

HS2 Ltd

• Alison Munro (January 2009 – September 2014)
• Simon Kirby (September 2014 – December 2016)
• Roy Hill (December 2016 – March 2017)
• Mark Thurston (March 2017 – September 2023)
• Sir Jonathan Thompson (September 2023 - Present)

DfT

• Sir Robert Devereux (2007 - December 2011)
• Dame Linda Margaret Homer (December 2011 – March 2012)
• Sir Philip McDougall Rutnam (March 2012 – April 2017)
• Dame Bernadette Kelly (April 2017 – Present)

The Government and its public bodies take any allegations raised seriously and will ensure they are thoroughly investigated.

The National Audit Office (NAO) examined historic allegations in 2018 and determined that these were unfounded. There is one new allegation which relates to a live whistleblowing investigation by HS2 Ltd.

It would be inappropriate to comment while the investigation is ongoing.