Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the risk of cost escalation in the Lower Thames Crossing project.

While the Development Consent Order (DCO) provides a fixed framework that limits scope-driven changes and offers higher cost certainty for delivery, it is important to note that at this stage of a project of this size and complexity there is always a level of uncertainty on the ultimate final cost of the project.

The government’s decision to proceed under the Regulated Asset Base (RAB) model will significantly reduce the financial burden of construction costs to taxpayers, bringing in substantial amounts of private investment.