Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the contribution of 14 January 1994 by the then Minister for Public Transport, Official Report, column 432, on Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Compensation), what conclusion the Government drew from its consideration of legal advice commissioned by local authorities.

Following the House of Commons Select Committee on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Bill, an interdepartmental working group on blight (IDWGB) was established to review the impact of blight during major infrastructure projects. The Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions published the final report of the IDWGB in 1997. This report is in the public domain. The report recommended, amongst other things, the creation of a Property Purchase Guarantee and Compensation Scheme, although this was not adopted by the government of the day.