You must be honest with MPs, Minister for HS2 is told

MPS HAVE written to HS2 Minister Andrew Stephenson demanding the Government is honest with Parliament over the highspeed rail project.

The letters released yesterday from the Commons Transport Select Committee follow a damning report from the Public Accounts Committee last week, which said HS2 was “badly off course”.

Writing on behalf of the committee, chairman Huw Merriman told Mr Stephenson: “Parliament must not be left in the dark about delays and cost overruns as it has been in recent years. Regular, robust and open information to Parliament is important for building trust in this project.”

Asking for details on how Mr Stephenson planned to deliver six-monthly reviews, Mr Merriman wrote: “As the largest-ever project on the Government’s Major Projects Portfolio, it is only right that parliamentarians are regularly informed of the project’s progress and have the information they need to properly hold government to account for its delivery.”

Mr Stephenson told the committee that “being transparent to Parliament is going to be a cornerstone” of his tenure.

In a similar letter to Mark Thurston, the chief executive of HS2 Ltd, Mr Merriman said transparency was vital to ensure public trust.

He reminded Mr Thurston he had committed to inform Parliament if there was a risk of failing to hit a milestone target on the scheme.

Mr Merriman also asked Mr Stephenson to explain why he had given evidence to the committee that he was sceptical about reducing the number of trains running on the line.

The long-awaited Oakervee review, released in February, recommended running 14 trains per hour instead of the planned 18, and that combined with bringing speeds down, this would save 10 per cent of the building cost.

Previously a Department for Transport spokesperson said the Government had “comprehensively reset” the HS2 programme.

The spokesman stressed there would be “clear transparency, strengthened accountability to Ministers and tight control of costs” in relation to the highspeed rail project.