Last month, I put down a written Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Transport, asking for the remit and cost of the consultants involved in the High Speed Two project. You can read my question and the answer in Hansard here and the text is below.

As you can see, these costs have already run to over £25 million…

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. 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 seems good money for a project that would never attract voluntary support and for those who, far from inheriting the mantle of the Victorian railway pioneers who risked private capital, rely on the taxpayer. It is a metaphor for the transformation of our society from one based on free enterprise to one dependent on state power and the essentially arbitrary decisions of politicians and officials.

Tags: Bureaucracy, Corporatism, economics, High Speed Rail, HS2, Liberty, Parliament, Rail, Transport