Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2026 to Question 13301 on Air Routes, what metrics are used by her Department to monitor specialist workforce shortages affecting delivery of the Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

Specialist resource, such as airspace designers, for the delivery of Airspace Modernisation are provided by private companies such as NATS. NATS is a private company, and it is for its management to decide how to resource its operation and provide its services.

Officials and the Civil Aviation Authority are working closely with NATS to strengthen the pipeline of specialist airspace design capability, including through NATS internal training schemes and use of external expertise.