Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 31 October 2025 to Question 84310 on High Speed 2 Line, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the four-year deferral of work on the Handsacre link on (a) journey times and (b) the economy during the initial operating period of HS2.

The deferral of work at Handsacre is not expected to have any impact on journey times once the delivery of HS2 is complete.

The economic benefits of the government's delivery plans for HS2 will be considered as part of the updated business case being developed in line with the work on the programme reset.