Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the costs of the 561 packages of enabling works for HS2 construction works are located in the overall cost estimate; for how many of those are the necessary land and property agreements complete; and whether their completion is in line with the overall construction programme.

Early Works Contractors bring forward requests for land access and possessions on a continuous basis. The majority of requests from Early Works Contractors relate to access for surveys rather than requests for land possession, which may require acquisition of land and property. There are different lead times for different types of access or possession and different arrangements put in place depending upon the nature of the access or the acquisition.