Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of the (a) road and (b) rail improvements required as a result of the expansion of Heathrow Airport.

The Airports National Policy Statement sets out that it is for an applicant to demonstrate how it will improve surface access and mitigate the impacts of expansion at Heathrow. The expansion of Heathrow Airport will be fully funded and delivered by the private sector.

The proposed western rail link and southern access schemes to Heathrow are separate projects, which are subject to their own business cases. Where there are significant non-airport public user benefits from changes and enhancements to the infrastructure and services, the Government has made clear it would consider making a funding contribution to reflect these.