Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to use the Transport and Works Act 1992 order procedure in support of the development of the HS2 Phase One route between London and Birmingham.

The vast majority of the powers needed to build Phase One of HS2 are provided by the High Speed Rail (London to West Midlands) Act 2017. However, it is on occasion necessary to supplement those powers, for example, to resolve an issue that was not anticipated during the period that the Phase One Bill was being scrutinised by Parliament. A means of doing this is to use an Order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 (the TWA).

The ‘High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) (Greatmoor Railway Sidings Etc.) Order 2018’ is an example of such an Order which has already been used on the Phase One scheme between London and Birmingham. HS2 Ltd are currently considering an application for a TWA Order relating to the Bromford Tunnel, though no formal application has yet been submitted. The Government does not rule out the use of further TWA Orders in support of Phase One of HS2 where additional authorisation might be considered necessary. Such applications will only be considered where they are deemed to be in the wider public and taxpayer interest, where the amendment provides cost and/or schedule benefits, and where there is sufficient time within the construction programme to accommodate the required process.