Airport Expansion

Commons Urgent Question

The following Answer to an Urgent Question was given in the House of Commons on Tuesday 28 January.

“I know that the honourable Member feels passionately about the issue of airport expansion, but I would like to make it clear that the press stories that have generated this Urgent Question are speculative and I cannot comment on their contents. But we do have a world-class aviation sector in the UK. The Government are committed to securing the long-term future of the aviation sector, and we recognise the benefits of the connectivity it creates between the UK and the rest of the world. It is a sector that I am incredibly proud of. In 2022 the air transport and aerospace sectors directly provided around 240,000 jobs in the UK, of which just under 1,000 were in aerospace. In 2023 the air transport and aerospace sectors directly contributed around £25 billion to gross domestic product, of which around £14 billion was from the air transport sector and around £11 billion was from aerospace.

We have been clear that any airport expansion proposals would need to demonstrate that they contribute to economic growth, are compatible with the UK’s legally binding climate change commitments, and meet strict environmental standards on airport quality and noise pollution. There is currently no live development consent order application for a third runway at Heathrow Airport, and it is for a scheme promoter to decide how it takes forward any development consent order application for that runway. The Government would carefully consider any development consent order application for the third runway at Heathrow, in line with relevant planning processes. The Secretary of State is currently considering advice on Luton Airport and Gatwick Airport expansions. As these are live applications, I cannot comment on them further today.

I understand the concerns of many Members of the House about how airport expansion may be compatible with our climate change targets. I would like to assure them that the Government have committed to delivering greener transport through sustainable aviation fuel and airspace modernisation. This will help meet the UK’s net zero targets, and it supports the Government’s mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower. Airport expansion will need to be considered carefully alongside these commitments”.

15:34:00

My Lords, Heathrow Airport Ltd is a 100% privately-owned company, which is subject to a form of economic regulation with which many noble Lords will be familiar from the water sector. In that light, can the Minister confirm that the long-standing, cross-party policy that any project for a third runway should be paid for wholly by the private sector and not the taxpayer will continue, and in particular, that any proposal as part of that project to relocate, tunnel or bridge over the M25 is also part of the cost that is to be paid for by the private sector and not by the taxpayer?

The noble Lord, Lord Moylan, is completely correct about the ownership of Heathrow Airport Ltd, which of course is likely to be a promoter—but possibly not the only one—of a third runway at Heathrow Airport. It certainly is government policy that a third runway should be paid for by a third party, but the detail of what it is and what other work is necessary to allow it to happen is not clear. The Government have invited proposals to be brought forward by the summer and promoters will hopefully make them, at which point it will then become clear how much they entail, how much other work is needed and how much they are proposing to pay for.

My Lords, the U-turn announced by the Chancellor in support of airport expansion across the south-east is astonishing. Can the Minister explain how a third runway at Heathrow will meet Labour’s four tests—on growth across our regions, climate, air pollution and noise pollution? Does he agree that far more investment in regional transport infrastructure would be a more sustainable way to secure economic growth across the country?

I assure the noble Baroness that the criteria that she has set out for airport expansion proposals are indeed those that the Government would use to look at any application for a development control order. We do not have that application yet because this is in the early stages. However, the proposition that connectivity drives growth, jobs and housing in line with the Government’s missions and the plan for change is no different in respect of air connectivity, which also drives economic growth.

My Lords, in responding to my honourable friend in the other place, Siân Berry, on the question of how this could possibly fit within the Government’s legal climate commitments, the Government suggested that the answer was sustainable aviation fuel. That currently represents less than 0.1% of aviation fuel, and it would take an awful lot of fried fish and chips if we were going to rely on used cooking oil. Does the Minister stand by the claim that somehow we will see a massive explosion in sustainable aviation fuel?

I suggest that “a massive explosion in sustainable aviation fuel” is probably not what the noble Baroness meant literally. But seriously, the answer is yes, as this country can be a leader in sustainable aviation fuel, which can support thousands of jobs, and the plan is for it to make up a much larger proportion of total aviation fuel. The Government are committed to our legal obligations to reach net zero in 2050, as set out in the Climate Change Act. The analysis that my department has done suggests that a third runway is compatible with net zero, because sustainable aviation fuel will make a difference. The Government are proceeding with it, and there is a lot of investment in advanced fuels to get technology to move forward.

My Lords, does my noble friend the Minister agree that airport growth can be a great stimulus to the local economy, especially in places such as Doncaster Sheffield Airport? The airport closed under the previous Government but I was pleased to see it mentioned by the Chancellor in her speech. Can he assure me that his department will do all it can to support the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport?

I thank my noble friend for that question, and this department will do all it can to facilitate the reopening of Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

My Lords, I was the Secretary of State who took this proposal through the Commons seven years ago, and I declare an interest as an adviser to AtkinsRéalis. The Chancellor suggested that work on the runway could begin before the end of this Parliament, which is only in four years’ time, and that for that to happen, it would be necessary for the process to start part-way through it. Do the Minister and the department believe they have to go back to square 1 and start from the beginning with a national policy statement and then a DCO again, or do they believe that that process can be short-circuited and they could start somewhere further down the track?

The noble Lord is very familiar with the processes that have been gone through so far. The answer to that question is that it really depends on what is submitted by the promoter this summer. We all know that there was a proposal for a third runway in the north-eastern quadrant of the airport. To start with, it depends very largely on whether that submission is very similar to the one the promoter made previously or if there is something substantially different.

My Lords, in 2014, the cost estimate just to build the Heathrow third runway was £18 billion, to be paid for in the end by higher fees on the airlines. British Airways was clear that it would not pay. In addition, Transport for London costed the upgrade to local transport as between £15 billion to £20 billion, of which the airport offered to pay £1 billion—the rest was to fall on London businesses and TfL. That project failed because the business case is completely ludicrous. Will the Minister now update us on the range of costings and, more importantly, who will pay?

The costs of a third runway depend, of course, on the proposals of the promoter to deliver it. Without that proposition, we cannot usefully have a debate about how much it might cost, but my earlier answer to the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, stands about the cost of the runway itself. The only other thing I point out to the noble Baroness is that, since 2014, the Elizabeth line has opened, and a significant amount of extra railway capacity has already been provided to Heathrow Airport.

My Lords, a good deal of air freight arrives at Heathrow. Does my noble friend the Minister think it would be possible—and rather a good idea—to redirect some of it to Doncaster Sheffield Airport, which is currently standing idle, thereby freeing up possible slots for other flights to come into Heathrow, and possibly obviating the need for a third runway?

I am not intimately familiar with the proportion of air freight that arrives in Heathrow on aircraft solely adapted for cargo. My understanding is that much of the air freight that arrives there in fact arrives in the holds of passenger aircraft, therefore redirecting it is far from a simple process. But the earlier point about the success of regional airports stands, which is that the Government are very anxious to reopen Doncaster Sheffield and will do everything they can to achieve that.

My Lords, I am sure the Minister agrees with me that expansion must be affordable, improve operation resilience for passengers and freight, and be compatible with environmental commitments. The modernisation of our airspace is a key part of that; modernising our skies is a crucial project that has been going on for many years—I remember it well from my time as Aviation Minister. Can the Minister update the House on the progress of that important project?

I shall have to write to the noble Baroness, but otherwise I agree with everything she said.

My Lords, the Minister will remember Boris Johnson’s promises of levelling up. This Government’s recent announcements on support for economic growth in transport and advanced manufacturing have favoured the south and east very strongly. Will they please ensure that in future planning they think about the impact on the rest of the country, and take into account that the south-east is short of water and is certainly short of renewable electricity?

An expansion of Heathrow will be of benefit to the entire UK, not just London and the south-east. A recent analysis suggested that over half the benefits would in fact be in the rest of the UK and not in the south-east of England.

My Lords, in welcoming the Government’s announcement that they are considering a third runway, may I ask the Minister what their attitude will be to airports outside London expanding? Does he think the expansion of Heathrow will at all put in danger the expansion of regional airports?

I will be interested to discuss with the noble Lord his view of the question he has asked, because, of course, he was Secretary of State for Transport in his time. Certainly, the view here is that it will not affect the development of regional airports. The Government are quite clear that the appropriate development of regional airports is the right thing to do for the development of regional economies.