Oral Answers to Questions

Wendy Morton Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2025 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Wendy Morton (Aldridge-Brownhills) (Con)]

1. What steps she is taking to ensure that major transport infrastructure upgrades are delivered effectively.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Heidi Alexander)]

The Department follows strong governance and planning frameworks, backed by rigorous value-for-money assessments, to make sure that upgrades are delivered effectively. That aligns with the Government’s 10-year infrastructure strategy and ensures that lessons, such as those from James Stewart’s review of High Speed 2, are applied across all projects.

[Wendy Morton]

The Secretary of State has recognised the value of the midlands rail hub and the investment that was needed there; it will create much needed capacity through central Birmingham. Given that, does she agree that now is exactly the moment to look at options such as the Sutton Park line, to enable the maximisation of rail traffic through more passenger services?

[Heidi Alexander]

I am keen that we look comprehensively at options for unlocking capacity that the midlands rail hub will provide. The right hon. Lady raises an important point about the Sutton Park line, and I am happy to talk to officials about whether that capacity could be unlocked as part of the scheme.