Time has come for severe HS2 scrutiny

STRANGE things are afoot with the £33billion white elephant, HS2, which has come under yet more scrutiny from government organisations and committees.

In the course of investigating the catastrophic financial and operating forecast for the HS1 line in Kent by the all-party Public Accounts Committee (PAC), it has emerged that much of the processes used for HS1 have been applied to HS2.

Department of Transport managers were unable to explain this and, when it was pointed out the government’s Major Project Authority (MPA) had graded HS2 to be red-amber – unlikely to succeed – the officials had no reassuring response to that either.

The projected return on tax payers money has plummeted from the £2.40 for every £1 invested over the very long term, to only £1.2 for every £1, with independent analysis suggesting between 60p and 90p.

This takes it well below the level the former transport secretary, Phillip Hammond, identified when he said any level below 1.6 should put the project under severe scrutiny.

That moment has certainly now arrived for HS2. But are his words of wisdom heeded by the current transport secretary, Justine Greening? Not in the slightest.

STAN MASON

Via email

Now it’s clear line makes no sense

NOW that even the Department for Transport shows with its latest data that HS2 costs more than it delivers in benefits, that the Major Projects Authority has real concerns, that the Public Accounts Committee thinks HS2 is ‘bonkers’, and even the Treasury is chary about wasting money on more planning, when can we expect to hear that HS2 will be confined to oblivion?

Perhaps David Cameron thinks that there is no more fitting memorial to his premiership than £33billion being spent on clawing an irreparable scar through previously unspoilt countryside to create a liability that generations to come must fund? Unlikely.

Perhaps he is waiting for the Office of Budget Responsibility or the National Audit Office to assess its value for money? The latter will be investigating it, and that the former should be is an excellent suggestion made by Lord Gus O’Donnell, until recently his Cabinet Secretary. But surely he does not need confirmation of the obvious?

Any reasonable person looking afresh at the evidence could only conclude HS2 makes no sense. The sooner it is dropped, the sooner we stop throwing good money after bad.

HILARY WHARF

Director, HS2 Action Alliance

Via email

MP’s support has proved invaluable

I AM writing to thank John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, for publicly supporting our call for improvements to diabetes healthcare.

Too many people with diabetes are not getting the basic checks and services they need to manage their condition. This is unacceptable, because people who do not get this basic level of care are at increased risk of devastating complications such as amputation and blindness.

We are demanding that the government puts in place an implementation plan to make this level of care a reality.

I am delighted that Mr McDonnell has added his voice to this demand by signing an early day motion on the subject. I look forward to working closely with him in the future, as we continue to campaign for healthcare that really meets the needs of people with diabetes in Hayes and Harlington and across the country.

ROZ ROSENBLATT

Diabetes UK London region manager

Via email

I also suffer from constant whistle

I WAS interested in your article about ‘permanent noise’ on April 25 (Driven to wits’ end by warning whistle, Gazette).

I also experience this from the West London Industrial Site (former Cape Boards site), in Iver Lane, Cowley.

It is the loud bleeping of platforms (cherry pickers) which are being loaded on to lorries, which often starts at 5.15am. Also, there is more HGV traffic on Iver Lane.

RESIDENT BOATER

Cowley