Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) representatives from HS2 Ltd, (b) Cabinet colleagues and (c) other relevant organisations on accelerating the construction of High Speed Two services to Manchester.

The Government is preparing an Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands which will set out our intentions for the HS2 Phase 2b route to Manchester and Leeds. That work is overseen by a Ministerial taskforce chaired by the Secretary of State, which includes colleagues from the Prime Minister’s Office, HM Treasury, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government, and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The Oakervee review concluded, following experience on Phase One, that having smaller Bills/phases may allow for faster construction of the project.

HS2 Ltd has been asked to prepare draft legislation for the route into Manchester for deposit in Parliament by early 2022, and to be ready to act on the conclusions of the Integrated Rail Plan for the whole route.