13 November 2024 - Work of the Secretary of State for Transport - Oral evidence

This session is Haigh’s first select committee appearance since the general election, and the Committee’s first evidence session of the Parliament. She sits alongside the Department for Transport’s two Permanent Secretaries, Dame Bernadette Kelly and Jo Shanmugalingam. 

The cross-party Committee is likely to question the Minister on the development of HS2 following the Autumn Budget announcement that the Government will fund tunnelling works to Euston, and whether the project will represent value for money under the current plans. 

There may be questions about National Highways’ five-year Road Investment Strategies, and how cost-effectiveness can be assured in future upgrades to major highways. 

MPs could scrutinise the Government’s long-stated aim of bringing rail services into public ownership in the hope of making them more reliable, and could receive an update on the progress of establishing Great British Railways and the role it will have. 

The Minister will likely be asked to set out long-term goals for improving bus services across the country, and for the Department for Transport’s assessment of the increased fare cap for buses outside London. 

The MPs, whose constituencies stretch the length of Britain, are also likely to ask questions relating to a range of subjects from the Department’s portfolio of responsibilities and modes of transport. 

Chair comment

Chair of the Transport Committee Ruth Cadbury said:  

“We are delighted to welcome the Secretary of State to our first session of this new Transport Committee. 

“Our cross-party team will examine the Government’s announcements from last week’s Budget, and we will also be looking to flesh out a cohesive vision for improving and decarbonising every mode of transport, relied upon by consumers and industry, across the UK.”