HS2 project ‘badly off course’
Lack of transparency ‘undermining public confidence’ in high speed rail line
HS2 bosses have been “blindsided by contact with reality” with the project “badly off course”, according to MPs.
In a report published by Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), fresh concerns have been raised by MPs over both the transparency and handling of the project.
The Government has now been urged to give “regular, accurate and open updates” on problems faced by the project.
Among its conclusions, the Committee said that the Department for Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd’s lack of transparency had “undermined public confidence in the programme”.
It also stated that the appearance of DfT Permanent Secretary Bernadette Kelly and HS2 Ltd executives, CEO Mark Thurston and chief financial officer Michael Bradley, before the Committee in March also “raised questions about the previous picture provided by the witnesses of the project’s health”.
The report read: “The Department and HS2 Ltd were aware of the scale of the issues facing the programme as early as October 2018.
“In March 2019, HS2 Ltd formally notified the Department that it could not deliver Phase One to budget and schedule.
“Despite being aware of these issues, the Permanent Secretary withheld from us that the programme was in significant difficulty when she appeared before the previous Committee in October 2018 and May 2019, even in response to specific questions about the programme’s delivery timeline and budget. HS2 Ltd’s annual report and accounts for the year ending March 31, 2019, similarly failed to give an accurate account of the programme’s problems.
“The Department and HS2 Ltd defended their actions, stating that there were commercial sensitivities, and that options were still being pursued to remedy the situation.” It added: “While we recognise that ministers had not yet decided how to proceed, no adequate excuse was provided for not disclosing to this Committee and Parliament the risk and uncertainty the programme was facing. We are disappointed by the Permanent Secretary’s response to our concerns about her failure to explicitly inform the Committee of the programme’s delays and overspend when asked about the general health of the project.”
Committee chair, Labour MP Meg Hillier, accused the Government of having made a “wealth of mistakes” over major transport infrastructure.
She said: “There is no excuse for hiding the nature and extent of the problems the project was facing from Parliament and the taxpayer.
“The Department and HS2 appear to have been blindsided by contact with reality – when Phase One started moving through Parliament, the predicted costs of necessary commitments to the communities affected have exploded from £245 million to £1.2 billion.
“The Government unfortunately has a wealth of mistakes on major transport infrastructure to learn from, but it does not give confidence that it is finally going to take those lessons when this is its approach.”
Responding to the report, a DfT spokesperson said: “We have comprehensively reset the HS2 programme, introducing a revised budget and funding regime, with significant reforms to ensure the project is delivered in a more disciplined and transparent manner.”