Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
15
Department manages HS2 via annual funding despite need for long-term profile.
Conclusion
The Department emphasised the need for a long–term spending profile for the completion of HS2, acknowledging to us that agreeing annual budget settlements was really poor for long–term infrastructure delivery.26 20 C&AG’s Report, para 4.6 and 4.7; Department for Transport, HS2 6 monthly report to Parliament: October 2020, 13 October 2020 21 Q 7; Department for Transport, HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: December 2024, 17 December 2024 22 Qq 23–25 23 Transport Committee, Oral evidence: HS2: progress update, HC 85, Q 408 24 Department for Transport, HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: December 2024, 17 December 2024 25 Qq 14, 19 26 Q 21 13 However, ahead of the programme’s reset and spending review and the longer–term certainty they should provide, the Department reported that it is having to manage HS2 Ltd’s delivery through annual funding and delivery targets for this year and the next. HS2 Ltd told us that it recognised this as a necessary short–term intervention.27 Renegotiating contracts
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 16 May 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗