Merriman: ‘No time or money’ spent by DfT on HS2 to Leeds

“No time or money” has been spent in the last year on the proposed HS2 ‘eastern arm’ from the East Midlands Hub to Leeds, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has revealed. But he says that the terms of reference for the work will be published “soon”.

Merriman was responding to a Commons Written Question from North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen (Conservative), who asked: “How much money and how many hours have been spent by High Speed 2 Ltd and the Department for Transport on the design and consultation on the proposed HS2 arm to Leeds since November 21 2021.”

The DfT’s Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the North and Midlands, which it describes as its plan “for delivering and sequencing major rail investment”, was published on November 18 2021.

“Preparatory work on the study envisaged in the IRP of how HS2 services could best reach Leeds has been undertaken using existing DfT staff as part of their routine work,” responded Merriman.

“No consultation has been launched. We intend to publish the terms of reference for the study soon.”

He also said that HS2 Ltd has “not undertaken” and “no money and no hours have been spent on any proactive work (design or consultation)” on the section of route since November 2021.

■ In a response to a Commons Written Question from Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh, who had asked him to publish the savings that each TOC has been asked to make in the last, current and next financial years, Merriman said: “Budget setting discussions between the Department and operators have always been treated as commercially confidential. In future, we hope to put more information in the public domain.”