The use of confidentiality agreements is a matter for HS2 Ltd and its counter signatory. HS2 Ltd sign these agreements to ensure that it can continue to work with businesses, communities and councils on issues that are sensitive. These agreements are voluntary and enable conversations about options under consideration to take place in a way that protects the commercial interests of both parties. The Government has committed HS2 Ltd to publishing the cumulative number of confidentiality agreements it has signed in its Annual Report & Accounts.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4044", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Stephenson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pendle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Stephenson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-01-11T15:11:35.387Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-12-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on transparency of public bodies of the decision to permit HS2 Ltd to enter into non-disclosure agreements with local authorities.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4084", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Esther McVey"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Tatton"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Esther McVey"} ], "uin" : "131258"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1271840", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1271840/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The use of confidentiality agreements is a matter for HS2 Ltd and its counter signatory. HS2 Ltd sign these agreements to ensure it can continue to work with businesses, communities and councils on sensitive issues. These agreements are voluntary and enable conversations about options under consideration to take place in a way that protects the commercial interests of both parties. The Government has committed HS2 Ltd to publishing the cumulative number of confidentiality agreements it has signed in its Annual Report & Accounts.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4044", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Stephenson"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pendle"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Stephenson"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2021-01-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2021-01-11T14:55:49.827Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2020-12-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department agreed to allow non-disclosure agreements between (a) HS2 Ltd and local authorities, (b) HS2 and The National Trust and (c) HS2 Ltd and the Canal and River Trust.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4084", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Esther McVey"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Tatton"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Esther McVey"} ], "uin" : "130715"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1243857", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1243857/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are used to protect both HS2 Ltd\u2019s information and the information of the other signatory party and are in accordance with typical business practice. These agreements help to avoid placing homes and businesses in unnecessary blight, protect commercially sensitive information of both parties and the personal information of those potentially affected by any proposed changes to the scheme. HS2 Ltd\u2019s Register shows The Promoter\u2019s evidence to the Select Committee only includes information relevant to the matters raised by each petitioner. The Promoter was not asked about NDAs, and so did not mention them to the Select Committees that considered petitions against the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill in either House whether any of the petitioners against the Bill had entered into a NDA (or confidentiality agreement) with HS2 Ltd. Nor has the Promoter done so for petitioners against the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill. The Select Committees are not inquiries into HS2 or HS2 Ltd \u2013 they are a quasi-judicial process that considers requests for changes to the scheme, made by petitioners.<\/p> <\/p> Confidentiality agreements preserve confidentiality when two or more parties exchange sensitive information. These agreements offer protection when parties want to share confidential or commercially sensitive information with each other but need to make sure that the information is not shared more widely. Like any contract, these agreements are entered into by mutual consent, and are utilised to protect not just HS2 Ltd\u2019s confidential information but the confidential information of the third party/ies involved. They provide value to the taxpayer by reducing uncertainty and by helping to reduce generalised blight.<\/p> A confidentiality agreement would not prevent a signatory from petitioning against the Bill or appearing before a Select Committee in either House to raise the issues in its petition. It simply seeks to ensure that any confidential information shared between the parties under the terms of the agreement is not disclosed.<\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-16T15:35:26.887Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the response on 13 July to the Freedom of Information request to HS2 Ltd (FOI-19-3289), whether they (1) informed the committees in both Houses of Parliament which considered the petitions in relation to the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017 to the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill, and (2) have informed, or intend to inform, the committee in the House of Lords which is considering the petitions in relation to the High Speed Rail (West Midlands - Crewe) Bill, that any petitioner who had signed a non-disclosure agreement with HS2 Ltd had signed such an agreement; if so, which petitioners; and if not, why not.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3526", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Berkeley"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Berkeley"}
], "uin" : "HL7602"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1230898", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1230898/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " HS2 Ltd uses NDAs to enable the exchange of confidential information with individuals and organisations, who do so on a willing and consensual basis. As Nusrat Ghani MP made clear on 15 July 2019, HS2 Ltd takes its responsibilities on the use of NDAs seriously. While HS2 Ltd holds information on the parties it has signed NDAs with, it is not held in a format that can be disaggregated by category and as such it is unable to provide information on: the number of NDAs with consultancy firms; landowners negotiating compulsory purchase orders; and the number that were deemed "confidential and sensitive".<\/p> <\/p> I can confirm that no NDAs have been signed by HS2 Ltd with police forces or with senior staff who have left the organisation; though a small number of Settlement Agreements have been signed with former staff which contain a confidentiality clause.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-09-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-09-16T15:47:53.197Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-09-02", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) HS2 Limited has signed, or has incorporated into contracts with, (1) consultancy firms, (2) senior staff of HS2 Limited leaving the organisation, (3) landowners negotiating compulsory purchase orders, and (4) police forces; how many contracts between HS2 Limited and those groups did not include NDAs or similar clauses; and further to the remarks by Nusrat Ghani MP on 15 July 2019 (HC Deb, col 651), how many NDAs signed by HS2 Limited were deemed \"competitive and sensitive\".", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3526", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Berkeley"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Berkeley"}
], "uin" : "HL7607"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1137923", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1137923/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : " A response is provided to both 261785 and 261784 jointly, as the questions overlap. Since 1 January 2017, HS2 Ltd has entered into 47 Settlement Agreements with employees who no longer work for HS2 Ltd as at today\u2019s date. Specifically, 26 of the 47 were employees who had themselves applied to be made redundant as part of a voluntary redundancy scheme that HS2 Limited ran in 2016. Of the remainder, 3 were with employees who were being made redundant as part of 2 discrete organisational changes. Of the 47, 10 Settlement Agreements have been entered into with staff who were members of HS2\u2019s senior leadership team or higher (7 of the 10 were part of the voluntary redundancy programme mentioned above).<\/p> <\/p> The Settlement Agreement contains terms relating to the cessation of the employment relationship between HS2 Ltd and the employee (e.g. termination date, payment owed for annual leave not taken, any other payments owed, etc). There are mutual confidentiality obligations in each Settlement Agreement but these do not apply where information is required to be disclosed by law OR where a protected disclosure is made by the employee under whistleblowing legislation. Of the 47 Settlement Agreements referred to above, no employee has raised any such protected disclosure (in relation to HS2 Ltd\u2019s financial statements or otherwise). HS2 Ltd has not entered into any Non-Disclosure Agreements with any HS2 employee.<\/p> <\/p> Before any Settlement Agreement is signed by HS2 Ltd and the employee, a certificate from an independent legal adviser must be provided, evidencing that legal advice has been given to the employee as to the effect of the terms of the Agreement. This process can lead to requests for changes to the template Agreement, which HS2 Ltd accepts where feasible.<\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4580", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Vere of Norbiton"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-23", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "groupedQuestionUIN" : {"_value" : "HL17023"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-23T14:15:48.703Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) non-disclosure agreements, (2) settlement agreements, (3) compromise agreements, and (3) similar legal agreements that contain non-disclosure provisions, HS2 has entered into with former members of staff.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3526", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Berkeley"}
}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Berkeley"}
], "uin" : "HL17022"}
], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 6, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]}
}
342<\/del> 339 <\/ins>such agreements have been put in place. As this number changes on a frequent basis as the project develops and new agreements are added to the Register we do not intend to publish a list of the parties at the present time.<\/p>"}
, "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4044", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Stephenson"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pendle"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Stephenson"}
, "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2020-10-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "true", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "previousAnswerVersion" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1243857/answer/previousversion/55722", "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4044", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Andrew Stephenson"}
}
, "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Pendle"}
, "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Andrew Stephenson"}
}
, "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2020-10-20T16:54:46.7Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
], "questionFirstMinisteriallyCorrected" : [{"_value" : "2020-11-30T18:11:58.937Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
]}
, "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "27"}
, "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Transport"}
, "date" : {"_value" : "2020-10-15", "_datatype" : "dateTime"}
, "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "High Speed Two: Disclosure of Information"}
, "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"}
, "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"}
}
], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many non-disclosure agreements have been entered into by HS2 Ltd; and if he will list the parties to those agreements.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"}
, "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/18", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dame Cheryl Gillan"}
}
, "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Chesham and Amersham"}
, "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Dame Cheryl Gillan"}
], "uin" : "104007"}
, {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1230893", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Transport"}
], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1230893/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "