Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government can designate a new Public Service Obligation route from a regional airport to a city airport in addition to an existing route operating to that city.
Answered by Jesse Norman
EU Regulation 1008/2008 sets out that Public Service Obligations (PSOs) can be considered on an airport to airport basis. Where an existing route is already operating to that destination city, a PSO can still be considered, provided the criteria set out in the Regulation are met.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department have had meetings with Heathrow Airport Limited since June 2017; and if he will place a copy of the minutes of those meetings in the Library.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Ministers and officials have met regularly with Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) since June 2017 to discuss a wide range of issues relating to the operation of the UK’s largest airport, as well as the potential delivery of its proposed expansion. These meetings are governed by propriety arrangements set out in the Statement of Approach, which is published online:
The minutes of such meetings include material relating to HAL’s private business operations. The release of this information would be likely to prejudice their commercial interests. Given that the amount of information in question is substantial, redacting and preparing the records for release would have a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on what dates (a) he, (b) Ministers of his Department and (c) officials of his Department have met with the (i) Department for Transport and (ii) Heathrow Airport Limited to discuss air pollution since June 2017; and if he will place copies of the minutes of those meetings in the Library.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Defra Ministers and officials have frequent, ongoing engagement with DfT counterparts in relation to air pollution, particularly through the work of the Dft-Defra Joint Air Quality Unit and the recent development of the Clean Air Strategy, as well as in relation to Heathrow. The honourable Member for Putney has made a Freedom of Information request asking for similar information. My department will respond to that request by the deadline provided.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what current routes by (a) route origin and destination, (b) airline carrier and (c) notified date of route closure have been flagged by airlines in accordance with the voluntary early warning system as set out in paragraphs 25 to 28 of his Department's Guidance on the Protection of Regional Air Access to London, published on 19 December 2013.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The three routes currently under Public Service Obligations (PSOs), were originally flagged using voluntary early warning system. These comprise the Londonderry to London Stansted airport, operated by BMI Regional from May 2017, Dundee to London Stansted airport, operated by Logan Air from June 2014, and Newquay to London Gatwick airport, operated by Flybe from October 2014. No other route has been flagged under the voluntary early warning system.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had discussions with British Airways on its plans to reduce Leeds Bradford Airport routes to London Heathrow; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Ministers have not had any discussions with British Airways on this matter. Whilst officials have discussed this matter with Leeds Bradford airport and British Airways, routes are a commercial agreement between the airport and the airline.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of using a Public Service Obligation to safeguard the Leeds Bradford Airport routes that British Airways announced changes to in January 2018; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
It is for the relevant regional body to make the case for a PSO to the Department, against the criteria set out in the Government’s guidance on protecting regional air access to London, in relation to 1008/2008. The Department has not received representations to this effect.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what legal agreements are in place between his Department and Heathrow Airport Limited to guarantee existing routes between London Heathrow and regional airports; what (a) routes and (b) regional airports those agreements include; and for how long those agreements have legal force.
Answered by Jesse Norman
There are currently no legal agreements in place between the Department for Transport and Heathrow Airport Limited to guarantee existing routes between London Heathrow and regional airports.
However, the Secretary of State has a clear ambition for around 15 per cent of slots made available from a new runway to be used for domestic routes. We expect that the majority of these routes will be commercially viable with support from Heathrow Airport Limited.
The Government will also take action, where appropriate, to secure routes through the use of Public Service Obligations (PSOs). This will include ring fencing appropriately timed slots. Further detail on the Government’s targets and commitments on domestic connectivity will be detailed in a Green Paper on the Aviation Strategy which will be published towards the end of 2018.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which of the then new regional air routes by airlines to be supported through the Regional Air Connectivity Fund, announced by his Department on 2 December 2015, are still in operation at the frequency set out in the respective airline’s accepted application.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Of the 11 routes to be supported through the Regional Air Connectivity Fund announced on 2 December 2015, services are still in operation on two routes and continue to receive financial support. These are routes between Newquay and Leeds-Bradford airports and between Norwich and Exeter airports. The Newquay / Leeds Bradford service now operates at a frequency of 4 daily returns per week compared to an original plan of 5 daily returns per week in the summer and 3 daily returns per week in the winter. The Norwich / Exeter service now operates at a frequency of 4 daily returns per week compared to an original plan of 7 daily returns per week in the summer and 4 daily returns per week in the winter.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of new pages of documentation that have been published as part of his Department's Airport National Policy Statement on 5 June; and if he will provide a list of those documents.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Department has made no estimate of the pages of new information published.
On 5 June, the Secretary of State laid in Parliament the Airports National Policy Statement (NPS). As required under the Planning Act 2008, this was accompanied by an Appraisal of Sustainability and the Government response to the Transport Committee scrutiny of the draft NPS. The Government has also published “The proposed expansion of Heathrow: a summary” and a non-technical summary of the Appraisal of Sustainability to provide an overview of these documents.
To assist readers, the Government has published change logs of amendments made to the NPS and the Appraisal of Sustainability since published for further consultation on 24 October. In addition we have published: a Habitats Regulations Assessment, an Equality Assessment, and a Health Impact Analysis, each accompanied by change logs listing amendments made since consultation; a report from the Independent consultation advisor on the October consultation; a summary of the responses to the October consultation; the Government’s response to the two public consultations; nine regional fact sheets; the key findings of an external report on Heathrow Airport Limited’s (HAL) delivery plans; an external review of proposed the capacities of HAL's north-west runway and Heathrow Hub Limited’s extended northern runway; and a new Addendum to the “Updated Appraisal Report: Airport Capacity in the South-East”.
Asked by: Justine Greening (Independent - Putney)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the reduction in total emissions of nitrogen oxides from ground-based sources associated with Heathrow Airport between 2008-9 and 2012-13.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The government has not made an estimate. However, Table E1 of Ricardo-AEA Ltd’s report “Heathrow Airport 2013 Air Quality Assessment” commissioned by Heathrow Airport shows that emission rates of nitrogen oxides from airport and non-airport sources declined over the period 2008/9 to 2013. The report is available at http://www.heathrowairwatch.org.uk/reports