Committee hears promoter’s Opening Statement and announces initial forward programme

• High Speed Rail (Crewe - Manchester) Bill Select Committee (Commons)

On Tuesday 31 January, Counsel for the promoter, Tim Mould KC and James Strachan KC, will appear before the Committee to make the promoter’s Opening Statement. The Opening Statement will give an overview of the Bill and the scheme it proposes, outlining the powers sought and key design and construction issues. The promoter of this Bill – the person or body which introduced the Bill to Parliament – is the Secretary of State for Transport.

Counsel will then be joined by Tim Smart, Phase Two Managing Director at HS2 Ltd and the promoter’s expert witness on engineering, who will provide the Committee with an overview of the proposed route for the new high-speed train line between Crewe and Manchester.

The Opening Statement will be available to attend in person or watch on parliamentlive.tv from 2pm on Tuesday 31 January, and a transcript will be published on the Committee’s website after the hearing.

The Committee’s initial forward programme, published today, also outlines upcoming public meetings of the Committee up to the start of petitioner hearings in March. After the promoter’s Opening Statement, the Committee will receive a number of briefings over the following weeks on technical issues relating to the Bill and the construction of the proposed scheme, before hearing cases where a petitioner’s right to be heard has been challenged by the promoter of the Bill.

You can view the Committee’s forward programme on its website when published. The programme will be updated when further meetings are confirmed. All public meetings, including the technical briefings and right to be heard hearings, will be available to attend in person or watch online on parliamentlive.tv, and transcripts will be published on the Committee’s website.

Further information

• About Parliament: Select committees
• Visiting Parliament: Watch committees

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