To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on consultants for work on high speed rail links from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland in each of the last five years. (195182)

[holding answer 19 March 2008]: In developing the July 2007 Rail White Paper, the Department for transport commissioned work on various inter-urban capacity options.

In the year preceding the July 2007 Rail White Paper, work on the potential for new lines amounted to around £250,000. No substantial sums were spent by the Department in previous years.