Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the final National Policy Statement on Aviation will include an estimate of the cost of clearing landfill necessary for a third runway at Heathrow; and whether that cost will be borne by the public purse.

The Government is currently consulting on a draft Airports National Policy Statement, with the consultation closing on 25 May 2017. Following consultation and Parliamentary scrutiny, the Government will consider all the responses received and, if it chooses to proceed, could then lay a proposed final Airports National Policy Statement before Parliament. It would be inappropriate for the Government to speculate on the content of any final Airports National Policy Statement before all of the relevant procedural steps have been taken. I would encourage the Hon Member to set out his views on the issue of landfill clearing costs in his response to the consultation.