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Report to Parliament on High Speed Two

I am today announcing the publication of the first report to Parliament on the progress of High-Speed Two (HS2) from this government.

This new government is committed to transparency on HS2 and keeping Parliamentarians informed of both the issues the programme is facing, the position we have inherited and its progress towards delivering rail capacity and passenger benefits between London and the West Midlands (Phase One). Since coming into government, we announced urgent measures to get a grip on HS2s costs and ensure taxpayers money is put to good use and we will be working closely with the new CEO, Mark Wild, to deliver the remaining work as cost effectively as possible, including setting a realistic budget and schedule.

HS2 Phase One is a vital part of the governments mission to rebuild Britain, and the government has been clear that we need to deliver infrastructure that works for the whole country. Right now HS2 supports 31,000 jobs and when completed, it will give faster, more reliable and frequent rail services between the West Midlands and London, promoting economic growth and opportunities for workers, releasing capacity to meet increasing demand on regional and local services, and stimulating new jobs and houses around its new stations in Birmingham, Solihull and London.

This report, which covers data reported by HS2 Ltd to the end of September 2024, provides information about the key decisions taken since the new government was formed in July, and the progress made in delivering Phase One. The government intends to publish these updates broadly every 6 months.

I will place a copy of the full report in the Libraries of both Houses.

HS2 6-Monthly Report to Parliament: December 2024

Overview

This is the first Parliamentary Report on the progress of High Speed 2 (HS2) under the new government. We are committed to complete accountability and transparency on HS2s progress and we will, therefore, continue with 6 monthly reporting.

One of the new governments first jobs has been to urgently review the unacceptable position we have inherited on HS2. We have already taken immediate and decisive action to provide greater assurance and oversight to get HS2 delivered at the lowest reasonable cost, including:

• Reinstating Ministerial oversight of the project to ensure greater accountability by holding regular meetings of the Ministerial Task Force, where the Rail Minister, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury and the Secretary of State for Transport will challenge delivery and remove obstacles to secure the full benefits of the railway more cost-effectively. The first meeting happened in October 2024.

• Launching an independent review led by James Stewart on the oversight of major transport infrastructure projects, including the effectiveness of forecasting and reporting of cost, schedule, and benefits, as well as actions to deliver cost efficiencies. The review will primarily draw on experiences of HS2 to date to ensure recommendations and learnings are applied to its delivery, as well as to future transport projects.

• Writing to the Chair of HS2 Ltd, making it clear that after safety, HS2 Ltds primary objective is to deliver the remaining work for the lowest reasonable cost, stressing the need to focus immediately on actions to turn things around and bring costs back under control.

It is important that we take definitive action now and act with common purpose across government, HS2 Ltd, and its supply chain to get HS2 delivered cost effectively. HS2 is a vital part of the governments Plan for Change and our mission to kickstart economic growth and rebuild Britain by fast-tracking infrastructure delivery, as well as the departments priorities to transform infrastructure to work for the whole country, promote social mobility and tackle regional inequality. When completed, HS2 will give faster, more reliable and frequent rail services between the West Midlands and London, as well as destinations further north, promoting economic growth and opportunities for workers, releasing capacity to meet increasing demand on regional and local services and stimulating new jobs and houses around its new stations in Birmingham, Solihull and London.

There are over 31,000 people and 3,300 UK businesses working directly on this national endeavour and we are grateful for their efforts individually and collectively to deliver amazing feats of engineering, often in challenging conditions on site and in the midst of continued speculation and criticism of the project.

We are pleased to confirm that Mark Wild formally began his tenure as HS2 Ltds new Chief Executive on 2 December 2024. His focus will be to deliver the remaining civil engineering works, install rail systems to the lowest reasonable cost and bring the new railway into service as an integrated part of the rail network, which provides seamless journeys for passengers. Mark Wild has an extensive background in delivering transport projects, including turning around Crossrail and successfully bringing the Elizabeth Line into service, with more than 350 million passenger journeys since opening in May 2022. Mark Wilds experience of transforming programmes and building teams and organisations that enable effective and efficient delivery will be invaluable in turning the tide on HS2.

With the support of the HS2 Ltd Board and the government, we are looking to Mark Wild to identify and lead HS2 Ltd and its supply chain through the essential changes needed to bring costs back under control. To do this, we will be asking him to undertake an assessment of the current position on cost, schedule, capability and culture. This will build on the work that has already begun between officials and at Ministerial level and provide an action plan to deliver the remaining work as cost-effectively as possible, including advising on a realistic budget and schedule. This work is vital and an absolute priority, but we are determined to provide sufficient time to allow Mark Wild to assess the current position, provide his advice and for the government to assess it and agree on a reset budget.

Until Mark Wild concludes this work, the government cannot be confident in the forecast outturn cost of the project. We are, therefore, managing HS2 Ltds delivery through annual funding and delivery targets for this financial year and next, but with reduced delegation on contingency. It will also be necessary to agree longer-term funding for HS2 in the spending review, due to conclude next year.

We are looking forward to receiving the outputs of the major transport projects governance and assurance review, led by James Stewart shortly, which will help inform further steps that we may wish to take to further strengthen cost control and delivery and enable effective governance and oversight by the government of HS2. This will also provide important lessons to be applied to the departments other capital projects and those across government.

More broadly we are committed to ensuring that lessons are learned from HS2 and implemented quickly, so the same mistakes are not made again. These include the importance of having clear and consistent strategic aims, improving cost estimation, ensuring delivery bodies have the right capability, improving contract design and how we manage the supply chain, and making sure the planning system enables quick and efficient delivery.

Therefore, alongside this review, the government is also working to apply lessons learnt from HS2. This is to ensure that infrastructure projects are delivered as efficiently as possible for taxpayers because successful delivery is vital for growth, jobs and housing. We also look forward to working with the newly formed National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) to maximise the contribution that investment in infrastructure has on growing the economy and creating high-quality jobs.

The department is already taking steps to apply lessons that have been learnt, particularly at the design stage, on curren

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