Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the construction timetable for HS2 phase one.

The Government is getting on with HS2 where this can be done in a way that protects local communities and workers. Whilst important work continues in line with the safety guidance, there will inevitably be an impact on progress. HS2 Ltd is currently working with its suppliers to assess this and we will update Parliament on the impact on schedule and cost in due course once the restrictions have been lifted and the impact can be properly assessed. The current schedule and cost estimates contain contingency to address these impacts.