Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 10 September 2015 to Question 9153, whether he received advice from officials in his Department on the potential deferral of Network Rail projects prior to 15 June 2015.

As the Secretary of State told the Transport Select Committee in July 2015, he received advice in September 2014 that there was a cost overrun of some £2 billion for Network Rail enhancement projects. This advice identified measures to bring costs back down. It did not advise pausing Midland Main Line electrification or Transpennine electrification.

15^th June 2015 was the first day on which that the Secretary of State received advice that these two projects should be paused.