Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they are planning to make for high-speed rail connectivity between northern cities, and in particular between places beyond Leeds in Yorkshire such as Bradford and Harrogate, and links between HS2 and Newcastle upon Tyne via Leeds.

The Government has asked Sir David Higgins to produce proposals for connecting the great northern cities. This work will look at how to bring the benefits of high speed rail to the north more quickly, as well as initial proposals for faster east-west connections – including options on route, timescales and cost – by the time of the Autumn Statement later this year.