Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to ensure that the Lower Thames Crossing provides value for money for taxpayers.

Officials and National Highways are exploring all funding options for the Lower Thames Crossing, including private finance. As with all capital projects, spending decisions will be subject to the upcoming spending review and business case process.

The assured cost estimate in line with the 2023 baseline for the project is £8.95bn, but it is important to recognise that there is a normal level of uncertainty at this early stage of the development of a project of the size and complexity of the Lower Thames Crossing.

Over £800m has been spent on the project to date. This includes the technical surveys and investigations, land purchasing costs, as well as the Development Consent Order application and the three contracts to deliver the project.

Following the announcement of the preferred route in April 2017, the subsequent statutory consultation in 2018 reported that the cost of developing and constructing the project was between £5.3-£6.8 billion. Prolongation and inflationary costs along with continued development of the project have resulted in the updated estimate.

There is a robust framework to ensure that projects such as the Lower Thames Crossing continue to be assessed at all stages of the project. The project adheres to the Departmental governance framework as a Tier 1 project – this represents the Department’s projects that are either one or a combination of the largest, highest risk, novel and/or contentious. The project is assessed against several factors, including the scheme objectives and value for money.

It also continues to follow the HM Treasury approval process for programmes and projects, as well as the Green Book and the Department for Transport’s Transport Analysis Guidance (TAG).