§ Baroness Turner of Camdenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have decided to hold a public inquiry into Railtrack's application for an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 in respect of the Thameslink 2000 project. [HL430]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (Baroness Hayman)In the light of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions statement on Wednesday 28 January (Official Report, Commons Vol. 305, Col. 466–474), about the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), the Secretary of State has decided to defer until 25 March the date by which he must reach a decision on whether to hold a public inquiry into Thameslink 2000. The reason for this is that powers for works which form important components of the Thameslink 2000 project are contained in the CTRL Act 1996 and cannot be used other than as part of the CTRL.