Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Written Ministerial Statement of 11 June 2018 on Contingency Liability: Notification (HCWS748), whether his Department’s decision to provide taxpayer indemnities to Heathrow Airport Limited is contingent on the third Runway proceeding.

The contingent liabilities entered into as part of the tripartite deal between the Department, Heathrow Airport and First Greater Western were about securing the future of the Heathrow Express services and delivering significant benefits to the Department, such as the savings generated from not building a replacement depot for Heathrow Express rolling stock at Langley as part of the HS2 scheme. They are not contingent on the third Runway proceeding.