HS2 Phase Two: Draft Equality Impact Assessment Scope and Methodology Report consultation

The Secretary of State for Transport recently announced his decision to bring forward plans for the West Midlands to Crewe section of the HS2 route (known as 2a) to open in 2027, 6 years ahead of schedule. To obtain the legal powers to build and operate this part of the railway, the Government intends to deposit a hybrid Bill in Parliament in 2017.

To inform the development of the 2a proposals, the Government has commissioned consultants to undertake an EQIA and prepare an EQIA Report. The EQIA will identify any particular equalities groups that may be disproportionately affected and action that may be necessary to limit such effects should they arise. This consultation sought views from local authorities, relevant statutory consultees and national interest groups along the route to comment on the draft EQIA SMR, but welcomed comments from everyone. This consultation will inform the way the EQIA is carried out.

Consultation responses will be published on a publicly accessible website. Individuals’ names, addresses or signatures will not be published. However, please do not include information in your response that could identify you, unless you are happy for it to be made public.

If you do not want any of your response to be published, you should clearly mark it as ‘Confidential’ in the subject line of the email or at the top of your letter. However, please note the following. All information provided in response to this consultation, including personal information, may be subject to disclosure in accordance with access to information regimes - these are, primarily, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA), the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Environmental Information Regulations 2004.

Under the FOIA, there is a statutory Code of Practice with which public authorities must comply and which deals with our confidentiality obligations, amongst other things. In view of this, it would be helpful if you could explain in your response why you regard the information you have provided as confidential. If we receive a request for disclosure of the information you provide, we will take full account of your explanation, but we cannot give an assurance that confidentiality can be maintained in all circumstances. An automatic confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system will not, of itself, be regarded as binding on the Department for Transport or HS2 Ltd.