Asked by Lord Spicer To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether
they intend to publish a strategy for aviation. The Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State, Department for Transport (Lord Callanan)
(Con) My Lords, the Government are committed to developing a
new aviation strategy, and we will set out our proposed approach
shortly. This will be an...Request free
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Asked by
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To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to
publish a strategy for aviation.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Transport (Lord Callanan) (Con)
My Lords, the Government are committed to developing a new
aviation strategy, and we will set out our proposed
approach shortly. This will be an ambitious programme of
work and we will consult widely, leading to the publication
of an aviation strategy White Paper at the end of 2018.
-
(Con)
I congratulate my noble friend on his new appointment. Does
he think that it will bring out the many Members of this
House and of the other place who want above all to know the
date by which we will start to build a new runway at
Heathrow? That date should, I think, be before Brexit takes
off, as it were. Can my noble friend give us his early
thoughts on this matter?
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I thank my noble friend for his kind words. The Government
remain committed to airport expansion in the south-east of
England through our preferred scheme at Heathrow. We must
remember that our manifesto contained a commitment to
continue the programme of expansion at Heathrow. We are
getting on with the job of delivering critical
infrastructure in the national interest. A consultation on
the draft Airports National Policy Statement closed on 25
May and the department is currently reviewing the tens of
thousands of responses received. Once the analysis is
completed and the Government have considered the responses,
I assure noble Lords that we will set out our next steps.
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(Lab)
Once the strategy is published, will the Minister quote the
costs to the public purse of the surface access? My
understanding is that those costs for the expansion at
Heathrow will be even higher than the cost of the first phase
of HS2. Would it not be better to expand our regional
airports and to do less in the south-east?
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The costs of the surface access to support the new
development at Heathrow, if indeed it proceeds, will be borne
by Heathrow Airport itself. Of course we also remain
committed to expanding regional airports, a subject dear to
my heart, and we will set out our approach in the aviation
strategy White Paper that I mentioned earlier.
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(Con)
Since aviation policy must cover drones, is the Minister
aware that the Government have been consulting for the past
two years, while other countries such as the USA have
legislated? Is it not time that we actually took some action
so that all drones that are either bought or are already
around are registered, with strict penalties for those who
abuse them?
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My noble friend makes a powerful point. As he says, we are
consulting on the issue at the moment. There have been a
number of well-publicised incidents of drones causing a
hazard both to members of the public and to aircraft, and we
will set out appropriate steps shortly.
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(LD)
Given the Government’s repeated failure to come up with a
plan to improve air quality that is consistent with EU
standards, does the Minister accept that the expansion of
Heathrow poses a massive additional challenge for which no
satisfactory solution has been provided?
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As the noble Baroness is aware, air quality is a national
issue, and we take it extremely seriously. The final plan on
air quality is due to be published on 31 July. If the
Heathrow Airport decision proceeds, the impact on air quality
will be taken fully into account. Moreover, Heathrow Airport
has committed to moving passengers from their cars and on to
public transport and has recently committed to no overall
increase in car movements to and from Heathrow in the event
of a third runway proceeding.
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(Lab)
I add my welcome to the Minister in his new position and I
express my best wishes to his predecessor, the noble Lord,
, in his new
role. I suspect that he will find himself spending more time
inside an aircraft as a Foreign Office Minister than he did
as Aviation Minister.
We have had a statement this morning about the financial
support the UK Government are prepared to make available to
Northern Ireland following discussions between the
Conservative Party and the Democratic Unionist Party. It
says:
“A detailed consultative report will be commissioned into the
impact of VAT and APD—
air passenger duty—
“on tourism in Northern Ireland to recommend how best to
build upon the growing success of that sector”.
Are similar consultative reports being commissioned into the
impact of air passenger duty on tourism in other parts of the
United Kingdom? If not, why not?
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As someone who uses regional airports regularly, the issue of
air passenger duty is, of course, high on my agenda. I am
sure the noble Lord will understand that, as a Minister only
a couple of weeks into his appointment, were I to start
rewriting the Chancellor’s Budget proposals at this stage I
would not last very long.
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(Con)
My Lords, when the time comes to repatriate the regulation of
civil aviation, will that be vested in a revitalised Civil
Aviation Authority, as in the past, or left to the European
Aerospace Agency?
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The whole issue of Brexit and how liberalised air transport
will go forward will be the subject of negotiation. We want
to ensure seamless access to European air transport matters,
and I am sure the European aviation industry will want to
access UK policy, too.
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(Lab)
My Lords, talking of aircraft, the Minister will be aware
that the aircraft carrier HMS “Queen Elizabeth” is, as we
speak, negotiating out of the fitting-out basin in Rosyth.
Will he pass his best wishes to the ship’s company of that
great ship, which for 50 years will ensure the security of
our nation?
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Vast though my responsibilities are, they do not yet include
aircraft carriers.
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(Con)
My Lords, I welcome the fact that the Government’s strategy
on new aviation policy is coming very soon, but I guess we
are 20 years behind. I say this as the Prime Minister’s trade
envoy to Rwanda and Uganda. We recently sold two airplanes to
the Rwandan Government, and for the first time, some four
weeks ago, there was a direct flight from Kigali to Gatwick.
We managed to get only three slots. We wanted seven slots. No
slots were available at Heathrow either. Post-Brexit, for us
to be a genuinely outward-looking country, we need direct
flights and we need more slots. Most African countries, which
are a growth area, need flights. The Ugandan Government want
one, Tanzania wants one, Zambia wants one, but there are no
slots available at Heathrow or Gatwick. Can we speed up the
process of the third runway, and maybe even a second runway
at Gatwick?
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I take my noble friend’s concerns on board. Many airlines
want access to the south-east of England. As we proceed with
Brexit, aviation will be a critical component of our
engagement with the rest of the world. More people will need
to visit this country; more people will need to travel abroad
for a new UK sector. Of course, the expansion of Heathrow, if
it proceeds, will provide extra slots and we will look at the
context of slots at regional airports in the aviation
strategy.
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(LD)
My Lords, can the Minister tell us whether will resign his seat if
the expansion of Heathrow goes ahead?
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I am sure the noble Baroness will want to ask himself that question.
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