HS2 doesn’t have the skills and capability needed
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has published its spring 2020 update on HS2, which include a series of damning statements
The report claims that the Department for Transport (DfT) and HS2 Ltd “undermined public confidence in the programme” as a result of a lack of transparency.
It also highlights that DfT failed to warn Parliament that “the programme was going off-course and value for money was at risk.” However most damning may be the fact that the committees states, “we are not yet convinced that the Department and HS2 Ltd have the skills and capability they need now or in the future.”
The HS2 project has come under continued criticism due to spiralling costs and slipping timescales – with latest forecasts showing the network operating fully between 2036 and 2040, three to seven years later than planned.
However when asked whether HS2 should still go during recent webinar in partnership with Squire Patton Boggs, the panel, including former Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton, all gave it a resounding yes – see the video below. Wharton in particular commented he expects to see more money spent on big projects moving forward and would expect that to apply to HS2 too.
The report, however, from the Public Accounts Committee does set out a number of proposed actions for both HS2 ltd and DfT moving forward.
In short these actions were focused on improving communication between the two organisations and Parliament and include publishing “the summaries of its Accounting Officer assessments for all projects and programmes in line” and ensuring there are no delays in informing Parliament if the project “is going off-course.”
A DfT spokesperson commented on the publication: “The current Secretary of State [Grant Schapps] has been clear that this project must go forward with a new approach to Parliamentary reporting, with clear transparency, strengthened accountability to ministers, and tight control of costs.
“We have comprehensively reset the HS2 programme, introducing a revised budget and funding regime, with significant reforms to ensure the project is delivered in a more disciplined and transparent manner.
“This includes appointing the first dedicated HS2 minister, bi-annual updates to parliament and establishing a monthly ministerial task force, chaired by the Secretary of State, to ensure the project has a rigorous scrutiny like the 2012 Olympics.”
The first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham is due to open by 2026 with the second phase to Leeds and Manchester due to be completed by 2032-33.
