Speeches by Turner.

“Just to understand the six-month process that you have outlined, is the uprating of prices to align with the spending review period part of the same process that you are describing?”

“Thank you, Chair. There has been a well-advertised disagreement over cost estimates between HS2 Ltd and the Department. The Stewart review recommends an independent evaluation of costs. When will revised cost estimates be published?”

“It is the published minutes.”

“Going back to the effective functioning of the board, at the January meeting, which, Mr Wild, may have been your first meeting, it was recorded that the board raised concerns regarding “the timeliness of Board papers being received and issued, which impacted the effectiveness of Directors to be prepared for meetings…Th…”

“On the same point, I neglected to draw attention to the register of interests in respect of donations to my constituency party from GMB.”

“I thank my right hon. Friend for bringing this debate to the House, and for the powerful and creditable case he is making. Does he share the concern that after 51 years, memories are fading? Documentary evidence, some of which may not be secured in the Department or the National Archives, is at risk of destruction, and…”

“I welcome the statement, and thank the Transport Secretary for all the positive engagement that she and other Ministers have had with the midlands rail project. At the heart of those works is the upgrade of Kings Norton station in my constituency, which is critically important for the cross-city line, and is also the b…”

“Like many Members, I have constituents who are stranded in Iran. We have all heard what the Minister has told the House this afternoon, and I know that he takes the safety of British nationals overseas extremely seriously. Will he assure the House that all practical steps are being taken to extend consular support, whi…”

“In the context of spending decisions taken by the Johnson Government, the last Conservative Rail Minister, Huw Merriman, told the Transport Committee last week: “A lot of promises were made to MPs and others as to the ambition, but it did not match the amount that was actually being set down.” He went on to say: “By th…”

“I strongly welcome the Secretary of State’s announcement. Under the Conservatives, 40 Sure Start children’s centres in Birmingham were shut down, including seven in my constituency, with devastating consequences for thousands of children who needed that support. I am so glad that Labour is taking action to turn the tid…”

“I have one more question on this area. We are all digesting the changes that have been announced to the Treasury Green Book. I was just wondering what your view is of those changes and whether it will make it more likely that enhancements will get through the appraisals and business case stage.”

“Good morning. One of the topics that we are interested in is what happens after a proposal for an enhancement has been identified. In contributing to appraisal and business cases, how does that work in practice for your organisations at the moment?”

“Picking up on Mal’s comments about whether there could be consolidation of these different processes, what would that look like in practice? Do you think that should be primarily locally led or is that perhaps a slightly artificial distinction?”

“Picking up on something you just said about the case-by-case approach, do you think in an integrated transport mode such as rail there will always be a need for national approval at some level, but that the process could be more collaborative? Am I on the right lines?”

“In terms of integrated settlements, we are anticipating greater autonomy for mayors and combined authorities, but with a £200 million limit on large transport project investment. What sorts of schemes can you see going ahead, with that greater autonomy, that might not have gone ahead before—perhaps thinking about regio…”

“Okay, thank you. Following the theme about influencing decisions made in Whitehall, including beyond the DFT, it was perhaps telling that the recent announcement on the midlands rail hub was a Treasury announcement; although I am sure there were lots of conversations between the Departments. When there are those cross-…”

“That is helpful. Thank you both for your candour.”

“We heard at an earlier session from Andrew Haines that GBR should be overseeing a more coherent way of planning and delivering investment in railway assets. Do you share that confidence? Are you encouraged by what you have heard from the Government so far on the design of GBR?”

“Huw, reflecting on your experience of working on rail reform and the Williams review, and trying to get that reform through both Parliament and Whitehall, what is the main advice you would give to Ministers today, perhaps working on the assumption that the Government have changed but Whitehall probably has not changed …”

“We are approaching the third anniversary of the very political and momentous decision to cancel HS2 phase 2B and HS2 East. I am conscious that time is tight, so I do not think this is the right time to reflect on the sequence of events and what exactly happened then, but, with members of the panel having had a close pe…”