Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 2.2 of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report, 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016, published by his Department in October 2016, if he will detail the reasons, other than the delay in completing the acquisition of large-scale commercial properties, for the £192.7 million underspend referred to in that report.

The £192.7m of the Land & Property (L&P) underspend shown in the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Act 2013 Expenditure Report for 1 April 2015 – 31 March 2016 was formed from two elements – strategic property acquisitions and compensation schemes, including providing discretionary assistance to home owners and small businesses.

The majority of the total L&P underspend was caused by delays in completing non-compensation scheme acquisitions. These are generally acquisitions of commercial properties and it is hard to accurately estimate completion dates due to complexity of the deals.

The other part of the L&P underspend was related to acquisitions resulting from the compensation schemes. The suite of schemes are demand led which means HS2 Ltd has very limited control over the timing of property purchases. Successful applicants to the schemes are allowed between one and three years after acceptance to decide on when they want their homes purchased.