Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the economic effect on Haringey of delays in the progress of proposals for Crossrail 2.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Transport projects are kept under continual review. Given current affordability constraints, Transport for London has confirmed that they are not in a position to prioritise investment in Crossrail 2, and the Government has agreed that they will stop development work on the project. No assessment has been made of the economic effect on Haringey.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings the Minister of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Pendle, has had with passenger groups based in the North of England since his appointment.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers hold meetings with a wide range of stakeholders including operators and passenger groups. During the pandemic these meetings have been held virtually. I am the Minister responsible for HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Transpennine route upgrade, and skills. Chris Heaton-Harris MP is Minister of State and has responsibility for rail, Williams Review, Beeching, Crossrail 2, East West Rail, cycling and walking, accessibility and corporate.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what meetings the Minister of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Pendle, has had with passenger groups representing disabled people based in the North of England since his appointment.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
Ministers hold meetings with a wide range of stakeholders including operators and passenger groups. During the pandemic these meetings have been held virtually. I am the Minister responsible for HS2, Northern Powerhouse Rail, Transpennine route upgrade, and skills. Chris Heaton-Harris MP is Minister of State and has responsibility for rail, Williams Review, Beeching, Crossrail 2, East West Rail, cycling and walking, accessibility and corporate.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the latest estimated costs of the portions of Old Oak Common station attributable to (1) HS2, (2) Crossrail 1, and (3) Great Western services; and what are the other costs for Old Oak Common station which make up the total estimated cost.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Within the Target Cost for Phase One, the budget allocated by HS2 Ltd for Old Oak Common station, including contingency for risk, is £1.67bn (2019 prices). A more detailed breakdown of costs cannot be provided as this information is commercially sensitive.
Old Oak Common is being designed and delivered as a single, integrated station and therefore costs cannot be neatly apportioned between the HS2 and conventional rail elements.
Asked by: Cheryl Gillan (Conservative - Chesham and Amersham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people working on the Crossrail project have left that project to take up positions with HS2 Ltd.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Crossrail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London. Crossrail Ltd are responsible for holding the data on how many people working on the Crossrail project have left to take up positions with HS2 Ltd.
Asked by: Lord Greaves (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for (1) ensuring certainty in the programme for transport infrastructure investment; (2) changing the regional balances in transport infrastructure investment as between London and the South East, and other regions in England; and (3) cancelling Crossrail 2 and investing a similar amount in the north of England and other English regions.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the importance of securing long-term transport infrastructure investment, as outlined in the recently published National Infrastructure Strategy. Though the scope of the Spending Review this year was refocused on supporting the government’s response to Covid-19, the Department secured over £60 billion in multi-year investment – providing certainty for major transport infrastructure programmes.
Investing in transport infrastructure is critical to increasing connectivity and driving regional growth, which are central to this government’s ambition to level up the UK. The Spending Review delivered investment for regions across the entire UK - including announcing a new £4 billion levelling-up fund, £4.2 billion for city regions across England as part of Intra-City Transport Funding and a commitment of over £22 billion to fund HS2 Phases One, 2a and 2b Western Leg to deliver essential North-South connectivity, greater capacity and shorter journey times.
The Department is also working to implement the findings of the Green Book Review. The refreshed Green Book will support levelling up by ensuring that projects are being assessed first and foremost on how well they deliver policy objectives rather than focusing on a purely economic assessment. For the first time, business cases for all proposals will have to set out how they will impact different places aligning with relevant local strategies and major interventions in the area.
Transport projects are kept under continual review. Given current affordability constraints, Transport for London has confirmed that they are not in a position to prioritise investment in Crossrail 2, and the Government has agreed that they will stop development on the project. This frees up investment to raise the performance of public transport networks in our regional cities.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Transport for London press notice, published 1 December on an agreed funding and financing package for the final phase of the Crossrail project, (a) what is the total value of the loan, (b) what is the repayment period of the loan, (c) do interest rates agreed in the package accord with the current Public Works Loan Board and (d) if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
On 1 December, the Government announced that additional borrowing of £825m will be made available to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for the purposes of Crossrail. The terms of the loan remain commercially sensitive. The Secretary of State for Transport provided a statement on this matter on 1 December.
Asked by: Alan Brown (Scottish National Party - Kilmarnock and Loudoun)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether legislative proposals are required to facilitate the loan package agreed with the Greater London Assembly for the completion of Crossrail.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
As a result of the announcement made on 1 December that additional borrowing of £825m will be made available to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for the purposes of Crossrail, the government will be preparing a Statutory Instrument to extend the period of time that Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy (MCIL) can be collected for the purposes of Crossrail.
Asked by: David Evennett (Conservative - Bexleyheath and Crayford)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of effect of the Mayor of London’s management of Transport for London finances on delays to Crossrail.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
Crossrail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL).
The Department remains fully committed to the delivery of Crossrail to get the railway fully open as soon and as safely as possible. The Government continues to work with Crossrail Ltd and TfL to support this.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision has been made to facilitate the interchanges at Old Oak Common station between (1) HS2, (2) Crossrail, and (3) Great Western Railway, services; what are the estimated costs and sources of funding for those provisions; and how long they estimate any (a) closures, and (b) disruptions, of (i) Crossrail, and (ii) Great Western Railway, services to last during construction.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The proposal for Old Oak Common is for an integrated station consisting of six HS2 platforms and eight platforms for the existing rail network, providing passengers with a direct interchange between high speed and conventional rail services. The estimated costs of delivering the station are contained within the reset Phase One estimate, which forms the basis of the Full Business Case for HS2 Phase One which was approved in April of this year.
The final design and precise construction programme for the station, which will determine the impact of Old Oak Common construction on existing services, is still being developed by HS2 Ltd and the Old Oak Common Station Construction Partner, Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra (BBVS). The construction programme is being developed in consultation with the wider rail industry and every effort is being made to minimise disruption to services on the Great Western main and relief lines.