Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse for legal costs relating to compulsory purchase orders made for the HS2 project.

All property acquisitions under compulsory purchase orders entail legal costs, for example in relation to conveyancing. The Department has not made an estimate of the potential cost to the public purse for legal costs associated with compulsory purchase orders for the HS2 project, as these costs vary depending on the size and complexity of each transaction and some cases have not yet been completed.