Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to address the concerns about the lack of financial controls and the risk of fraud and financial errors with regard to HS2 raised by the Public Accounts Committee in its report High Speed 2 Annual Report and Accounts, published in December 2017.

The Department for Transport accepted and has implemented all four recommendations made by the Public Accounts Committee in their report High Speed 2 Annual Reports and Accounts. Actions taken by both my Department and HS2 Limited include a revised version of the Framework Document, which governs the relationship between the two organisations, that was published in May 2018. A new governance regime has also been embedded in HS2 Limited and mandatory training has been provided for all the company’s staff to ensure that they understand their responsibilities regarding managing public money.

Full details of the Department’s responses are provided in the Treasury Minutes published on 1^st March 2018 which is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/treasury-minutes-1-march-2018 and available in the Libraries of the House.