§ Mr. Gordon MarsdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the impact of(a) Blackpool borough council's previous relations with light rail contractors and (b) the lack of need to divert utilities as part of the proposed Blackpool light rail upgrade on the overall risk assessment of the Blackpool light rail bid in the light of the conclusions of the National Audit Office report, "Improving public transport in England through light rail", on cases of cost overruns in light rail schemes. [175504]
§ Mr. McNultyThe Department will be taking both of these factors into account in its assessment of the level of 'optimism bias' to apply to the estimated capital costs of the project, to reflect possible cost overruns.