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Review of HS2 including programme update, local community impact and engagement, environment, benefits and programme governance (27 October 2022).

Overview

I am reporting continued progress on High Speed Two (HS2) in this, the government’s fifth update to Parliament.

Phase 1 (West Midlands to London) remains within the budget and schedule range, is hitting construction milestones, has made progress on key procurements and is supporting more jobs and apprenticeships than ever before.

HS2 Ltd are progressing key activities for phase 2a to support the next stage of delivery, and since the last report the phase 2b Western Leg Bill had its second reading in June 2022 and is progressing through the legislative stages.

This report shows how, at this important time, we are continuing to grow the economy and bring communities together across the North of England, Midlands and the South.

Key achievements in this reporting period (February to August 2022 inclusive) are:

• HS2 has now over 350 active sites between West Midlands and London, since 2017 over 950 apprentices have been recruited and as of September over 29,000 jobs are being supported.
• Laing O’Rourke Delivery Limited has been awarded the contract for the construction of HS2 Interchange Station at Solihull worth up to £370 million (in 2022 prices). The contract will involve the finalisation of the detailed design and the subsequent construction of the station.
• ‘Dorothy’ became the first tunnel boring machine (TBM) to complete its first bore and is now preparing for the second parallel tunnel. The 1-mile tunnel preserves the ancient woodland above at Long Itchington Wood. Four TBMs have now been launched on phase 1 and driven a total distance of approximately 8.4 miles.
• in May the Canterbury Road Vent Shaft became the first diesel-free work site on the HS2 programme. This is a significant step towards the project’s aim to be net-zero carbon from 2035.
• the phase 2b Western Leg hybrid Bill secured its second reading in the House of Commons by 205 votes to 6 and the First Additional Provision (AP1) was deposited in July.

The report uses data provided by HS2 Ltd to the HS2 Ministerial Task Force for phases 1 and 2a and covers the period between February 2022 and August 2022 inclusive. Unless stated, all figures are presented in 2019 prices.

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