HS2 consultant costs to date

Earlier this month, Steve Baker, MP for High Wycombe, asked Justine Greening about some of the money already spent on HS2. The government has already spent over £25.8 million – enough to complete a number of smaller transport projects. (But it is dwarfed by the £33 billion total cost of building HS2.)

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport which consultants are being or have been used on the High Speed 2 project; and what the
(a) remit and
(b) cost to the public purse was of their services in each case. [91918]

Justine Greening: The following table provides information on the consultants used by both HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport since the inception of HS2 Ltd in 2009 to present. It also gives information on their remit and associated costs.

Company Remit Costs
ALOGIT Technical services 23,184.00
DbyD: Consultation Institute Consultation 23,760.00
Arup Engineering and technical services 7,155,687.35
Atkins Economic services 2,053,812.96
Bircham Dyson Bell Legal services 117,013.52
Bombardier: Min Headway Eval Engineering and technical services 24,000.00
Booz and Company Environmental and economic services 3,550,744.07
Campbell Associates Environmental services 37,473.26
CB Richard Ellis Property services 280,606.59
CCH Wolters Kluwer (UK) LTD Taxation services 504.00
Davis Langdon Cost and risk services 26,569.60
DG Consultant Transport services 17,500.00
Senior Ecologist—ELM Environment Environmental services 10,027.74
Energy Strategy Engineering services 2,160.00
Ernst & Young LLP Financial services 410,888.90
Eversheds LLP Legal services 233,499.89
Hay Group Management Limited HR services 53,987.36
Transport Studies Unit Transport services 48,135.60
Landmark Chambers Legal services 13,800.00
Mott Macdonald Engineering services 4,412,654.42
MSG Engineering services 154,904.91
MVA Economic services 3,276,661.48
Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd Environmental/transport services 7,632.51
Oliver Wyman Consulting Limited Strategy consultancy 107,497.73
Paul Jenkins Associates Ltd Engineering services 22,696.18
Rand Europe Economic services 19,986.80
Reg Harman Consultancy Environmental services 783.30
Rowsell Wright Procurement services 257,976.00
URS/Scott Wilson Economic services 14,652.00
Stoneywood Consultants Organisation/procurement services 59,001.59
Systra Operational services 82,500.00
Temple Ltd Environmental services 3,209,557.60
Thornton Springer Taxation/payroll advice 1,842.00
UKPNS Traction Environmental services 111,430.95

That’s a total of over £25 million on consultancy already spent. It does not include any of the costs of HS2 Ltd themselves or the Department for Transport.

And lets hope that – unlike Justine Greening’s reply in Parliament to John Redwood – she’s not forgotten something.

14 comments to “HS2 consultant costs to date”
  1. At times like these when our present government is not listening to the people who took the time and trouble to fill-in the questionnaire in July 2011, 96% were against HS2. Just like Gerrards Cross, Bucks where almost 100% of the residents were against a Tesco being built in their town but it still got built, you ask yourself the question: why bother to ask the people what they think if the authorities ignore the results? The authorities may get their way in projects like HS2 by grinding people down but do they really think that the people will accept being ignored for ever? I have been voting Conservative for over 40 years but I will never vote for the Conservatives ever again and that is a firm promise whatever happens.
    I wanted to retire after working for over 45 years but now find that my house will be devalued by at least 15 to 20% when I most want the funds to retire, not comfortably but get by. The compensation scheme is a shameful travesty which is strategically thought out by these “Strategy Consultants” who think of ways of not paying the commercial value of houses along the HS2 route, at a time when the people expect the government to be fair and show the way forward. We are all naive in our own ways as governments have been screwing us for ages and we have been too blind or too knackered after work/commuting to be able to fight back. David Cameron seems to want to pi*s everyone off, the Armed Services, the public servants, the Conservative voters and many others.
    In 2015 the Conservative party will find itself in no man’s land as well as Labour who has conceived this dreadful HS2 project that will bankrupt us all.

    Thank you for your time.

    Geoff Powell

    • @GSP: I have been voting Conservative for over 40 years but I will never vote for the Conservatives ever again and that is a firm promise whatever happens.

      Assuming that you will actually continue to vote, just who will opt for in future elections – given that both Labour and the LibDems also back HS2?

      I’m intrigued to know?

      • I will vote for any person or party who will drop HS2

        We have tried petitions/consultations/letters etc etc but to no avail so we need to develop a campaign that shows the 3 main parties how many votes they will lose at the next election if they continue with HS2

      • Plenty of choices. I can’t speak for Geoff but for me it would be UKIP, some of their rhetoric is a bit strong but they at least see through the nonsense of European union and of course are against HS2. Maybe even the Green Party, they did at least win a parliamentary seat and have made great strides in Germany and of course are against HS2. Naturally it goes without saying a Stop HS2 independent would get my vote if one was standing.

        My dream is that the coalition fall out sooner rather than later ( maybe over the Health Bill ) and I get chance to use that vote in the next 12 months but Clegg won’t allow that to happen because he knows the LibDems won’t have been forgiven over tuition fees.

        PS ) Please don’t give us another lecture about the UK voting system, since the main parties are more or less the same it doesn’t really matter who wins so we might as well vote with our consciences.

        • Indeed Martin…..voting with your conscience its very evident amongst those who actually bother to vote at an election ( over 33% of those entitled to vote didnt bother last time round ).

          I honestly think that if HS2 was put to the voting public as a referendum, and it was mandatory to vote, I think you would see an overwhelming majoirty in favour of the whole project.

        • Here is a party that will suit you to a tee and also sums up the whole of Stophs2. The party is called Monster Raving Loony Party or its new name stick you head in the sand party.

          • Very droll john and slightly unnecessary.

            Actually when I met David “Screaming Lord” Sutch about 20 years ago it was very clear that he had a keen sense of the ridiculous. So I tend to think he would have approved of a project to spend £ 35 billion on building a trainline through Green Belt and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to save a relatively unimportant amount of time on journeys that only people with an expense account will be able to afford by then.

            He would probably also have built it on a 200 mile viaduct and painted it pink.

        • @MartinH: Please don’t give us another lecture about the UK voting system, since the main parties are more or less the same it doesn’t really matter who wins so we might as well vote with our consciences.

          I don’t need to provide another lecture because your words do it for me – you’ve realised already that you’re flogging a dead horse when it comes to any expectation of the ballot box influencing current mainstream party policy on HS2.

          Good luck with your vote for UKIP – another wasted ballot paper to add to the many millions cast in past UK general elections – 2015 will be no different in that respect.

          It makes me chuckle no end to see the anti-HS2 brigade twisting themselves into contortions hoping for some kind of electoral miracle at the next general election – go ahead, put up an anti-HS2 candidate (if you feel that strongly about it, stand yourself) in each of the constituencies bordering the planned route – but be prepared to lose your deposit, in every single case!

          • I assume nothing, one way or the other, and only made the comment about not wanting a lecture on the UK electoral system simple because I knew you would not be able to resist doing just that on your favourite subject.

            As far as losing the electoral deposit goes, there would be no chance of that in any of the effected constituencies. Small wager available for fun if you want.

            • Thats’s a daft bet @MartinH because neither of us know yet which of the smaller parties will put up candidates in the relevant constituencies. UKIP has official policy against HS2 – UKIP attracts just about sufficient votes to retain its deposit (5% of votes cast threshold) so if their candidates agreed locally to stand aside and promote an anti-HS2 candidate in their stead, it’s possible that they would attract just about enough votes to avoid losing their deposit. Ask me again after close of nominations in the relevant constituencies.

              If the parties I expect to stand do stand, an independent anti-HS2 candidate standing in isolation will lose their deposit. There is also one constituency in the area affected that doesn’t obey normal rules – namely Buckingham because it’s the Speaker’s Seat.

    • Our ‘democracy’ is a sham. Voters never get a chance to vote on the issues. We vote for candidates or a party which offers a basket of policies. You might agree with some from one lot and others from another lot, but you can’t pick n mix. Then after the election the winning party takes it as a mandate for all their policies, even the most extreme ones that very few voters actually agreed with.

      The word ‘democracy’ arose in small Greek city states where the voters voted on concrete issues, and not just for slippery politicians. Citizens voted to go to war knowing not only that they would have to pay for it but that they themselves could be killed in the battles. They cast their ballots and took responsibility for the outcome.

      The citizens of communities along the route are collectively going to war with the vested interests and corrupt government that are threatening to blight their lives and environment. This is democracy in action, more akin to the Greek city states than the Westminster con trick whereby bureaucrats and vested interests extort money and power from the rest of us by pretending they have a ‘democratic’ mandate. How many citizens would vote to spend £35 billion for 335 miles of railway?

  2. At last ……..something decent to look at from the stopHS2 campaign. Its this sort of stuff which would get you support from the public……whilst I m a supporter of HS2 for pure operational and logistics reasons, none the less I would have to acknowledge the fact that the sheer cost of it in terms of hard cash is somewhat mindblowing. Looking at the list above , straight away I can see that some of these items warrant an investigation…….there looks to be an awful lot of ” jobs for the boys ” here…….what on earth is ” strategy consultancy ” @ £107000 ??????????????? ……

Comments are closed.

2010-2023 © STOP HS2 – The national campaign against High Speed Rail 2