Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that general aviation is a catalyst for future growth and high-tech jobs; and if he will make a statement.

The new Aviation Strategy will address the potential, the needs and the concerns of all types of aviation. This includes including General Aviation, and its potential to be a catalyst for future growth and high-tech jobs.

The Government recognises the importance of the UK’s General Aviation sector and has appointed Byron Davies to be the General Aviation Champion. This Champion will be tasked with engaging with the sector, developing a thorough understanding of the relevant issues, and championing the role that it plays in the economy and society. At the end of 2018 he will deliver a report on the value of general aviation to the economy. He will have the help of York Aviation, which we have commissioned to carry out research on airfields of strategic significance.