Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the reason was for the time taken between the submission of the Project Reach outline business case and final government approval.

The period between submission of the Outline Business Case and final Government approval reflected the need to complete the detailed commercial, legal, and financial arrangements for a complex long-term partnership. Additional time was also required following the withdrawal of the original private-sector connectivity partner and subsequent changes to the consortium's governance and management arrangements.

These matters needed to be resolved and assessed before final Government approval could be granted.