Lord Houchen of High Leven (Con)

My Lords, I hope noble Lords can already sense my excitement at this Question, so I appreciate the time. It is an extremely important celebration—I declare an interest as the regional mayor for the Darlington and Stockton area—which will go down as a point in history for a key piece of infrastructure that hopefully will shape not just our past but our future. Along those lines, I ask the Minister: what is the department’s and the Government’s position on the CRSTS2 budget, which is still under review ahead of the spending review, and what representations is he making to the Treasury to make sure we protect that capital investment, to make sure that we can invest it not just in general transport but specifically within our rail infrastructure, to make sure we have a rail infrastructure fit for the 21st century?