Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the water bodies required to prevent a deterioration of water body status in the event of a third runway being constructed at Heathrow.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In the Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS) that accompanies the proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), the Government has undertaken a high level assessment of the effect on the water environment of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme.
The proposed Airports NPS sets out the requirements in relation to water quality and resources which any applicant for a Development Consent Order would need to meet. This potentially includes the effects on water bodies or protected areas under the Water Framework Directive.
The Government has not estimated the time it will take to decontaminate land. This a matter that would need to be addressed as part of any application for development consent. The AoS identifies a range of sources and pathways for contamination within the site boundary. These include two active landfills, 16 historic landfills and 11 registered pollution incidents, five of which are classified as significant.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has estimated the time it will take to decontaminate land before a third runway can be constructed at Heathrow.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In the Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS) that accompanies the proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), the Government has undertaken a high level assessment of the effect on the water environment of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme.
The proposed Airports NPS sets out the requirements in relation to water quality and resources which any applicant for a Development Consent Order would need to meet. This potentially includes the effects on water bodies or protected areas under the Water Framework Directive.
The Government has not estimated the time it will take to decontaminate land. This a matter that would need to be addressed as part of any application for development consent. The AoS identifies a range of sources and pathways for contamination within the site boundary. These include two active landfills, 16 historic landfills and 11 registered pollution incidents, five of which are classified as significant.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has estimated the quantity of contaminated land that will need to be decontaminated before a third runway can be constructed at Heathrow.
Answered by Jesse Norman
In the Appraisal of Sustainability (AoS) that accompanies the proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS), the Government has undertaken a high level assessment of the effect on the water environment of the Heathrow Northwest Runway scheme.
The proposed Airports NPS sets out the requirements in relation to water quality and resources which any applicant for a Development Consent Order would need to meet. This potentially includes the effects on water bodies or protected areas under the Water Framework Directive.
The Government has not estimated the time it will take to decontaminate land. This a matter that would need to be addressed as part of any application for development consent. The AoS identifies a range of sources and pathways for contamination within the site boundary. These include two active landfills, 16 historic landfills and 11 registered pollution incidents, five of which are classified as significant.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has identified waste disposal facilities in south-east England with like-for-like spare capacity to deal with the closure of Lakeside Energy from Waste in the event of a third runway being constructed at Heathrow.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has not sought to identify specific like for like energy from waste facilities to manage the loss of the Lakeside plant. DEFRA’s assessment used publicly available data on waste disposal held by the Environment Agency to confirm that the Lakeside energy from waste plant is not a strategic asset.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the cost to the public purse in the event that the Airports National Policy Statement is approved by Parliament but Heathrow Airport Limited is unable to finance its expansion.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is clear that the Northwest Runway scheme at Heathrow will be financed by the private sector without Government support. In the event that Heathrow Airport Limited were unable to finance its scheme, there would be no default cost to Government.
The Government and its advisers have undertaken considerable assurance work on the financial viability of Heathrow Airport Limited's scheme. Given the transformative nature of the scheme, there will almost certainly be various risks and challenges that will need to be addressed as the scheme design and regulatory framework are developed. The Government has concluded that, so far as can be assessed at this early stage of the process, in current market conditions Heathrow Airport Limited appears in principle to be able to finance expansion privately and without Government support.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 92 of Government’s response to the Transport Committee’s report, Airports National Policy Statement, published on 23 March 2018, HC 548, whether that accounts for hazardous waste separately to other categories of waste.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has no plans to make any further assessments of the removal of the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant. The proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) at para 5.142 makes clear that the effects of removing the plant will require assessment by an applicant for Development Consent. The proposed Airports NPS also sets out the requirements on an applicant for the management of the waste generated by the development.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the page 92 of the Government’s response to the Transport Committee’s report, Airports National Policy Statement, published on 23 March 2018, HC 548, what plans he has to make an assessment of the removal of the Lakeside energy from waste plant upon capacity for treatment of waste to be carried out by Heathrow Airports Ltd under the Airports National Policy Statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government has no plans to make any further assessments of the removal of the Lakeside Energy from Waste plant. The proposed Airports National Policy Statement (NPS) at para 5.142 makes clear that the effects of removing the plant will require assessment by an applicant for Development Consent. The proposed Airports NPS also sets out the requirements on an applicant for the management of the waste generated by the development.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the cost to the public purse in relation to Heathrow Airport Limited in the event that the Airports National Policy Statement is not approved by Parliament.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is clear that the construction of the Northwest Runway at Heathrow will be financed entirely by the private sector. Should the Airports National Policy Statement not be approved by Parliament, there would be no financial liability on the Government.
There is no agreement in place between HAL and the Department that gives rise to a right to claim for damages, losses, liabilities, costs and/or expenses or any other relief.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has discussed with the Leader of the House the date on which the final vote on the Airports National Policy Statement is planned to take place.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Secretary of State for Transport has regular discussions with the Leader of the House on a wide range of issues. The NPS was laid on 5 June and will be subject to a debate and vote in the House of Commons within 21 sitting days of laying the final NPS in Parliament. The last date that can take place is 9 July 2018.
Asked by: Adam Afriyie (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 1.113 of the Government Response to the Transport Committee Report on the revised draft Airports National Policy Statement, HC 548. what the evidential basis was for his Department's statement that there is sufficient waste management capacity to absorb any Lakeside loss.
Answered by Jesse Norman
DEFRA used publicly available data on waste disposal held by the Environment Agency to confirm that the Lakeside energy from waste plant is not a strategic asset and its loss would not affect the UK’s ability to meet environmental targets e.g. diversion from landfill. Therefore there is neither a statutory nor a policy reason to mandate replacement of the plant in the proposed Airports National Policy Statement.
The Lakeside energy from waste High Temperature Incinerator (HTI) mainly treats clinical waste. In the South East and London Regions (which includes the Lakeside facility) there are three HTIs (including Lakeside) with permitted capacity of 68kt. However, in 2016 only 57kt of waste was treated in total at these facilities and 5kt (or 9% of the total capacity) at Lakeside. The clinical waste burned at Lakeside does not have to be dealt with by an HTI. There are six clinical waste plants in the South East and London Regions (including Lakeside) therefore the loss of the clinical waste tonnage at Lakeside could be met by other facilities.