Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the implications are for the construction timetable of the HS2 eastern leg following his announcement to defer decisions on that leg until the completion of the Integrated Rail Plan.

We are committed to taking forward HS2 to transform our national rail network, bring our biggest cities closer together and level up opportunity across the country. On the Eastern Leg we have time to consider the best approach to get the most benefit for the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the North East, and want to ensure that this is well integrated with plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail and similar rail projects to get the best out of the significant investment in rail. The Integrated Rail Plan will confirm the form, scope and phasing of the HS2 Eastern Leg, and will be published later this year.