Committee publication · Correspondence · 1 June 2026
Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport relating to HS2 Parliamentary report, 19 May 2026
From: Public Accounts Committee
Inquiry: Delivering HS2 and Euston
Summary
The Permanent Secretary at the Department for Transport notifies the Public Accounts Committee that the government has published the latest HS2 parliamentary report (data to end April 2026) and a reset of the programme. The letter confirms updated cost and schedule estimates have undergone independent assurance and approvals, and commits to continued transparency and accountability reporting to Parliament.
Key findings
- Secretary of State has published the latest HS2 parliamentary report and made a parliamentary statement on the programme reset
- Updated cost and schedule range estimates for HS2 have been produced and subjected to integrated assurance and approvals process
- Independent panel of national and international industry experts has scrutinised the estimates and methodologies in line with James Stewart's review and Office of Value for Money study on megaprojects
- HS2 Ltd has published initial findings on simplifying the railway specification and analysis of cancellation and remediation costs
- Government's focus remains on safe delivery of HS2 at lowest reasonable cost for taxpayers with continued regular parliamentary reporting
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Jo Shanmugalingam CB (Permanent Secretary, Department for Transport), Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP (Chair, Public Accounts Committee), Secretary of State for Transport, HS2 Ltd, James Stewart, Office of Value for Money
Notable line
“T oday's report sets out the progress made to date, including updated cost and schedule range estimates for the programme.”
Key Quotes
“Over the past year, HS2 Ltd and the government have been working closely on a full reset of HS2 to bring effective oversight, public trust and stricter cost control back to the project.”
“These estimates and their methodologies have been subject to an integrated assurance and approvals process, in line with James Stewart 's review and the Office of Value for Money 's study on megaprojects, including scrutiny by an independent panel of national and international industry experts.”
“As the reset continues to make progress, the g overnment's focus will remain on the safe delivery of HS2 at the lowest reasonable cost for taxpayers.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗