Government to oversee building of HS2 amid spiralling costs
There have been warnings that overall spend could be more than £65 billion.
Ministers will oversee the building of the HS2 rail line, the Government has announced as it attempts to get hold of soaring costs for the project.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh has also ordered an independent review of Phase One, as she aims to get a “grip” on the bill for the line between Birmingham and London.
The Government said that “poor project management, inflation and poor performance from the chain” had caused costs to “spiral out of control”.
There have been warnings that overall spend could be more than £65 billion.
She said on Sunday morning that she, along with Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones, would be holding regular meetings on the progress of the project and its costs.
It will publish reports on HS2 every six months to “ensure complete accountability and transparency”.
Ms Haigh said: “One of my first jobs as Transport Secretary has been to urgently review the position I have inherited on HS2.
“It has long been clear that the costs of HS2 have been allowed to spiral out of control, but since becoming Transport Secretary I have seen up close the scale of failure in project delivery – and it’s dire.
“Taxpayers have a right to expect HS2 is delivered efficiently and I won’t stand for anything less.”
The Major Transport Projects Governance and Assurance Review will be led by James Stewart, the former chief executive of Infrastructure UK who worked on the Crossrail project in London.
It will present its report to the Government this winter.
The Department for Transport warned that some contracts for companies working on HS2 could be renegotiated or amended as part of the process.
It added that the line will only run to Birmingham, and the Government was not considering resurrecting plans for it to continue on to Crewe and Manchester.
Ms Haigh added: “I have promised to work fast and fix things and that’s exactly why I have announced urgent measures to get a grip on HS2’s costs and ensure taxpayers’ money is put to good use.
“It’s high time we make sure lessons are learnt and the mistakes of HS2 are never repeated again.”
A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “We welcome the Secretary of State’s priorities for HS2 Ltd and are committed to working with the new Government to improve delivery. We also fully support James Stewart’s governance review and look forward to his recommendations.
“HS2 Ltd recognises that there are many lessons to be learned from delivery to date and, under new leadership, are actively implementing the changes within our control to stabilise costs.
“HS2 is a complex project of strategic importance to the UK’s rail network, which will not only provide better journeys, more services and fewer delays for rail passengers, but will unlock economic growth and tackle regional inequality.”
