Source · Select Committees · Transport Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
Paragraph: 25
To take account of the changes of plan for the HS2 Eastern leg and to...
Recommendation
To take account of the changes of plan for the HS2 Eastern leg and to inform current and future decision-making, the Department for Transport should publish by March 2023 an updated BCR for (a) the entire HS2 project and (b) the previous full proposals for the Eastern leg of HS2 Phase 2b. The methodology used must fully reflect impacts on regional inequalities.
Government Response Summary
The government will develop and expand on the wider economic and levelling up benefits in future business cases, including proposals for HS2 East and the HS2 to Leeds Study, and will publish the NPR Strategic Outline Business Case later this year.
Paragraph Reference:
25
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The wider economic and other relevant benefits, including a qualitative assessment of levelling up, were considered for both NPR and the Eastern Leg options as part of the IRP. The Government recognises that these could be developed further and expanded in future business cases (including proposals for HS2 East and the HS2 to Leeds Study). The Government therefore accepts both recommendations (with recommendation 4 applied to NPR business case development). As set out in its evidence to the Committee and above, the Government believes that the proposals in the IRP deliver, in most cases, similar benefits for a substantially lower cost than alternatives. As part of the development of the NPR Strategic Outline Business Case (SOBC) the Government has commissioned updated analysis on a range of different network options, including the potential levelling up impact on communities impacted by these different networks, such as Bradford. This analysis will compare the core NPR network committed to in the IRP with relevant alternatives and will include a full value for money assessment in line with the DfT value for money framework and HMT Green Book. The Government will set out its conclusions and the next steps on NPR and aims to publish the business case later this year.