The lack of transparency with HS2 contracts is disturbing by their very number. Just one contract thread followed saw a haulage firm contracted to decontaminate soil . The firm has no decontamination plant listed on its own website. Questions are asked where is this decontamination plant? There has to be decontamination the Tunnel Boring Machines TBM’s have no reverse gears and because of the heat they generate cannot use the plant based oils they claim. That means that conventional oil is dumped in situ.
More details please. Martin
Please see this link to more information.
BBV HS2 MWCC North - Treatment and disposal of contaminated materials - Successful tender contact details not on government site - a Freedom of Information request to High Speed Two (HS2) Limited - WhatDoTheyKnow There is of course far more than this. Also I have conducted research which shows 2 of the main contractors for HS2 have active connections to Putin. One is the beneficial owner of the company STRABAG. Deripaska. According to the Austrian authorities he is registered by them as the beneficial owner. The other is Control Risks with 2 Russian agents close to Putin - all to be found on their website.
Thank you Deborah. I’m disappointed to learn this and think this should be
better known.
If you wish to see what I have on these contracts please email at djmallender@yahoo.co.uk then you are in position to verify the information yourself.
Hi Deborah, thanks for posting. There is definitely a transparency problem with HS2 concerning their contracts.
The total value of awarded contracts on Contract Finder is £9 billion, whereas the HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament: June 2023 says the overall spend to date is £24.7 bn.
Not all spending will be through procurement, but it seems like a massive transparency gap and a possible breach of the government’s transparency policy.
All the more concerning as the “Right Honourable” Matt Hancock MP said this in 2016 
I’ll send them an FOI request asking where all the contracts are.
Regards
Chris
Please see the thread of this request about one contract. I was originally told waste would go to a treatment plant, I was given the name of the company which on further investigation turned out to be merely a haulage company. That came out clearly when HS2 changed its story about what this contract is actually for. So we appear to have the following problems with this one contract 1) A decontamination of spoil contract was given to company that appears not to have a decontamination plant 2) HS2 then shift the story to there is a decontamination plant onsite. Well who is operating that a haulage firm? I need to see the raw laboratory results since laboratory analysis was referred to. My suspicion is a contract exists with a company that is neither equipped or qualified to deal with the matter. There is a huge Waste Crime problem locally where nonsense is put on documentation which does not coincide with what is put in the landfill. So we are already aware of how to follow documentation and compare with reality. BBV HS2 MWCC North - Treatment and disposal of contaminated materials - Successful tender contact details not on government site - a Freedom of Information request to High Speed Two (HS2) Limited - WhatDoTheyKnow
Any assist on following HS2 contracts welcome.
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Also another person has put this together about company connections and HS2. He is the surveyor to Lord Berkley. A very interesting person to talk to.
So we now know there is a wider problem.
Further I have information regarding STRABAG HS2’s main tunnelling contractor and Control Risks HS2’s main Security Contractor. Strabag has an active Russian beneficial owner -Deripaska- with links to Putin. He is supposed to be sanctioned but the Austrian authorities - Strabag is an Austrian company - have said that they have registered him as the beneficial owner despite denials by Deripaska. Control Risks have a right old history of interference in African countries resulting in African nations forming the Organisation of African Unity. Fast forward to today Control Risks have 2 active serving Russian Agents who boast close ties to Russia and Putin. One is a reservist in the Russian military.
Does anyone on here want the documents with source links.
Hi Deborah,
Lack of response is not the same as lack of interest (but down to a lack of ability to provide any useful feedback or support.) I will find some time to read https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/bbv_hs2_mwcc_north_treatment_and.
Thanks for sharing.
Keep asking questions.
James
I followed up this morning with an FOI request concerning the publication of all contract award notices
Will let you know how I get on.
Keep up the good work!
Regards
Chris
Hi Chris,
I genuinely don’t understand HS2. Why is a private limited company subject to FOI? (It’s a rhetorical question. I’m not expecting an answer.)
George Monbiot suggests, “The primary purpose of most major development projects is to provide contracts for developers. … The greater the ratio of private gain to public gain, the more likely a project is to proceed.” https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/sep/28/hs2-fiasco-clientelism-profit-big-projects
That would explain a few things.
Keep asking for information.
Regards
James
Hi James, High Speed 2 Ltd is a non-departmental public body, wholly funded by the Secretary of State for Transport and sponsored by the Department for Transport which explains why its subject to the FOI Act and thank goodness it is.
Regards
Chris