Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the arrangements for controlling air traffic with the UK's airspace, further to the recent disruption to the London Flight Information Region.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government regrets the recent air traffic control issues and the impact these have had on airlines and their customers. NATS has an outstanding aviation safety record and is regulated against service targets which are set by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). It is important that we await the findings of the independent review which the CAA has announced into the technical failure which impacted NATS systems on 28 August 2023 and that any recommendations from this are responded to accordingly.
My officials have and will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to ensure robust plans are in place to mitigate any disruption to air traffic control services, recognising that the safety of the operation must always be the paramount consideration for air navigation service providers.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to page 3 of Stakeholder Engagement Appendix G, Heathrow's Airspace Modernisation (FASI South) Stage 2 Gateway submission, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential ecological impact of diverting flight paths over Richmond Park.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The airspace modernisation programme is an important national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace.
All sponsors of airspace change must follow the Civil Aviation Authority's regulatory requirements as set out in airspace change process (CAP1616). CAP1616 requires sponsors to undertake comprehensive environmental assessments for airspace options that are under consideration. The requirements of CAP1616 can be scaled up or down depending on the nature and impacts of the airspace change proposal.
Heathrow airport is currently at Stage 2 of the CAP1616 process. Heathrow needs to pass through the Stage 2 gateway before it can progress to Stage 3. It is at that stage that the sponsors of permanent airspace change proposals will undertake a full options appraisal before undertaking a formal public consultation with all interested stakeholders, including local communities.
Asked by: Baroness Randerson (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government what action they are taking to meet their ambition for aviation energy efficiency to increase by 2 per cent per year; and what assessment they have made of the reasons why the current level of improvements to aviation energy efficiency is below the ambition at 1.4 per cent per year.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
In July 2022, the Government published the Jet Zero Strategy, setting out our approach to achieving net zero aviation by 2050.
The Strategy set out an emissions reduction trajectory and committed to the ‘high ambition’ scenario, which included an average annual fuel efficiency improvement of 2% per annum between 2025 and 2050. Whilst the average annual improvement figure is 2%, we expect the pace of progress to vary by year depending on technological development and adoption.
The Government is supporting the development of new low and zero-carbon emission aircraft technology through the Aerospace Technology Institute with £685m of funding over three years. The Government published a Call for Evidence for airport operations in England to be zero emission by 2040 in February 2023, and is supporting airspace modernisation by providing £9.2m of funding between 2020-2023.
In July 2023 we published the Jet Zero Strategy One Year On document which sets out the progress and achievements since July 2022 and the key challenges ahead in meeting Jet Zero. We have committed to reviewing progress against our emissions reduction trajectory annually from 2025 and to with a full review of the Strategy every 5 years.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July to Question 192153 on China: Espionage, whether the use of spy balloons by China is a bilateral and international issue which is of importance to UK interests.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Integrated Review Refresh (IRR) sets out a new framework for responding to both traditional and emerging threats such as high altitude surveillance balloons, which we will not tolerate in our airspace, as well as our wider approach to China. The UK will further strengthen our national security where actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose a threat to our people, prosperity and security. Internationally, we will align with allies and partners to strengthen collective security and where necessary, push back against behaviours that undermine international law. Bilaterally, where it is in the UK interest to do so we will engage constructively with China.
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to assess the environmental and health impacts of concentrated flight paths.
Answered by Jesse Norman
UK airspace is an invisible but vital piece of our national infrastructure. Modernisation is long overdue and is critical to ensure that UK airspace is fit for purpose in the future. Its aim is to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys and more capacity for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace.
The Airspace Modernisation Strategy (AMS) sets out the ways, means and ends of modernising airspace through nine elements that will modernise aircraft-based navigation and airspace management. A refreshed AMS was published in January 2023 which extends the strategy out to 2040, reaffirming our commitment to delivering this key infrastructure programme. Sustainability is an overarching principle of the strategy. The environmental benefits of the strategy will contribute towards our Jet Zero emissions reductions targets for the aviation sector.
The environmental benefits of airspace modernisation will contribute towards our Jet Zero emissions reductions targets for the aviation sector. The Free Route Airspace deployment over the southwest of England in March 2023 saved 12,000+ tonnes of CO2/year and 150,000 nautical miles of flying, which is the equivalent of seven trips around the world.
All sponsors of airspace change must follow the Civil Aviation Authority's regulatory requirements as set out in CAP1616. These requirements reflect the Government's Air Navigation Guidance 2017 which requires sponsors to consider the use of multiple flightpaths to disperse air traffic, as well as undertake full assessments of the airspace options they are considering. Noise impacts must be assessed using the Department’s Transport Analysis Guidance which includes a module for valuing the impacts of noise on health and quality of life.
Airports are responsible for the specific arrangements for low-level flightpaths. Engagement with all relevant stakeholders, including communities, is an important part of CAP1616 and is crucial to the success of the airspace modernisation programme. I would encourage you and your constituents to partake in these public engagement exercises to ensure the needs of your constituency are fully accounted for in the airspace change process.
Asked by: George Howarth (Labour - Knowsley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what operation the RAF was carrying out over the Black Sea on 26 June 2023.
Answered by James Heappey
An unarmed RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint aircraft carried out a routine patrol in international airspace over the Black Sea on 26 June 2023.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times the RAF has been deployed to intercept aircraft in Republic of Ireland airspace in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Heappey
There have been no instances over the last three years of RAF aircraft being deployed to intercept aircraft within the airspace of the Republic of Ireland.
Asked by: Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party - North Antrim)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has an agreement in place with the Republic of Ireland on air defence cover.
Answered by James Heappey
I am withholding any response to questions on other nation's sovereign airspace access, as these should be for the nation in question to answer; therefore any further questions on Irish airspace should be directed to the Government of Ireland.
Asked by: Laurence Robertson (Conservative - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to maximise the benefits of the CAP1616 process in delivering airspace modernisation; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The airspace modernisation programme is a critical national infrastructure project that aims to deliver quicker, quieter and cleaner journeys for the benefit of those who use and are affected by UK airspace. Modernisation is long overdue and is critical to ensure that UK airspace is fit for purpose in the future.
All proposals to alter flightpath arrangements must follow the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) airspace change process (CAP1616). The CAA has recently consulted on CAP1616 seeking views on various options designed to simplify its structure, make the process clearer and easier to understand, and ensure it can be proportionate and tailored to each airspace change proposal. The consultation ended on 19 March 2023 with the updates to CAP1616 expected to be in place by the end of this year.
The outputs of this consultation will allow the CAA to unlock the full benefits of the CAP1616 process and it will make a written statement on its website on this in due course.
Asked by: Carol Monaghan (Scottish National Party - Glasgow North West)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential merits of using Beyond Visual Line of Sight uncrewed aircraft to provide supplies to rural and isolated communities.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government is committed to delivering the economic and social benefits of drone use to communities across the UK. This includes working across Government, industry and the regulator – the Civil Aviation Authority – to create the right conditions for BVLOS operations to proceed routinely and effectively without compromising the safety of our airspace. The newly established Future of Flight Industry Group includes representatives from commercial drone operators and local authorities to ensure that this work is taken forward alongside industry and local communities.