Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that communities and environmental mitigation is allocated sufficient funding in Phase 2 of High Speed 2.

In the 2015 Spending Review, the Government restated the long-term funding envelope for the HS2 programme at £55.7bn in 2015 prices. This envelope includes funding for Phase Two with contingency. We intend to deliver the most cost effective design for HS2 and ensure that the best value is achieved. We have a regime in place for delivering HS2 and managing costs which will ensure there is sufficient funding for community and environmental mitigation.